To Dance Among The Skies

by Aerith The Evenstar

Valerie Smith is friends with Alexis and has always been fascinated by the sky, and is taking ballet lessons. But she finds a Mini-Con panel and everything to the point that it even changes her life in the process. Please Remember To Review.

14. Crack

ATE: I can't believe it's taken me almost a month to update. And it seems like by the time I update this story the chapters get longer! This was 75 microsoft word document pages long in 12 font! That's longer than the last chapter! Anyways, I'd like to thank Diamond White, Crystalmaiden62, Zeltrax541, Sailor Shinzo, kaitamis, Bumblebeecamaro38, TheLoveDov, DarkButterfly128, Manderss.x.x, and Azura Soul Reaver for their reviews so far. Also, big thanks go out to Diamond White and Crystalmaiden62 for their ideas I used in this chapter. Not only will the first half of this chapter contain a filler, but the last half contains the events of Episode 37: Crack. And according to my sources, Episode 37 happens to be the last episode in season one of Transformers Armada. That also means that the next chapter will be the start of season two, which is also Episode 38. Enough on my part, you're all wanting the read the chapter, so enjoy!

Declaimer: I don't own Transformers, Transformers Armada, A Chinese Ghost Story: The Tsui Hark Animation, or any of the songs I use in this chapter. I only own my OCs Valerie and Astera.

WARNING: This chapter contains certain material that falls under the M rating for a reason. No flames.

PS: This chapter contains references to my stories Astera and Trypanophobia. If you get confused, you can read those stories if you haven't done so yet.

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Chapter 14: Crack

After I had rested up a bit in the med bay I started to freak out when I saw it was around 6:49 pm. I was beyond grateful that Jetfire agreed to take me home and I now sat in one of the seats inside his shuttle form with the safety harness carefully around me,. I was tempted to fidget around, but after the first time I learned that was a bad idea since it caused my side to hurt.

"Why are you so worried, Skydancer?" Jetfire asked. I had no doubt that he sense my emotions through our connection.

"Mom and Dad are home around this time and I know they'll be wondering where I am." I told him.

"I'm sure everything will be fine. Just relax for now."

The trip ended sooner than I wanted it to when Jetfire landed in the woods behind my house and new worries invaded my mind.

"Stop worrying so much!" Jetfire tried to send me reassurance, but it did little to help me. His holoform materialized in front of me as he knelt down to be eye leveled with me.

"I can't help it! How am I going to explain my fractured rib? Tell them I fell out of a tree whiling climbing?"

"That's exactly what you're gonna tell them. It wouldn't be far from the truth since Megatron dropped you after causing you to get hurt."

I hung my head as I was reminded of what happened today. I hadn't felt it at the time it occurred, but not that I looked back on the memory I was terrified at how close I had been to dying. I dismissed the memory before looking up at Jetfire's face and I knew he had been aware of what I had been thinking.

"How am I going to explain you? Mom and Dad are going to be suspicious when they see you with me, and I can't exactly say you're my guardian like we did with Dr. Vernon." I stated.

"Oh…" I saw the realization in Jetfire's gold eyes before he got a thoughtful look. "Lemme see if I can fix this."

I was confused and opened my mouth to ask him what he meant by 'fix,' but the words never came when Jetfire closed his eyes and his holoform started flickering. My mouth hung open as his features started changing, starting with his height which shrunk considerably. His face seemed to get slightly fuller, seeming to get younger before his holoform stopped flicker. He opened his eyes and I was surprised to find myself staring into the face of a younger looking Jetfire. His appearance made him look to be around my age. He grinned, his eyes seeming to sparkle in amusement from seeing my reaction.

"Well?" He asked, his voice sounding the same with the exception of it being younger. "How do I look?"

I felt my face heat up from hearing his voice and from his appearance. Even though he made his holoform look younger he was still hot. Jetfire smirked and my face got warmer as I realized he knew what was going through my mind. He chuckled before placing a hand (which had gotten smaller from the changes) on the side of my face, causing my heart to beat faster.

"C'mon, Skydancer! I know I can hear your thoughts and all, but I want to hear you actually say it."

"Y-you…l-look cute…" I stuttered.

"What? That's not the same as what you thought a few seconds ago!"

"Please stop teasing me for one minute and help me get to my house."

Jetfire sighed.

"Fine."

The safety harness across my chest undid itself before his holoform helped me move around as he supported me. I hissed in pain because I was being moved. Jetfire winced slightly from the sound.

"You can feel the pain I'm in?" I asked.

"Not exactly. I know enough to know you're in pain if I'm not around, but not actually feel it." He explained. "When we're bonded to each other I will, unless you manage to block it from me. The same can be said the other way around."

After some time we managed to get around the house so that we stood outside the front door. I tried to ignore the pain as I reached over to ring the doorbell. It wasn't long before Mom answered the door, only to be surprised when she saw me.

"Valerie! You're hurt!" She cried.

"Tell me something I don't know." I smiled before laughing, only to wince in pain.

"Come on in!"

Mom had us come inside and made me sit on the couch. I would've rolled my eyes as she piled numerous pillows behind my back and around me in order to provide me with comfort.

"Mom, I can understand that you're worried about me, but don't you think you're overdoing it with the pillows?" I asked.

"Nonsense! My baby is hurt and I need to make sure you get better." Oh god… This was so embarrassing and what made it worse was that Jetfire was listening to the whole thing. "By the way, who's this?"

I glanced at Jetfire out of the corner of my eye since he was seated beside me on the couch.

"Mom. This is my friend, Jason Flynn."

I could feel Jetfire's confusion through our connection.

{'Jason Flynn'?} He asked.

'It's a lot better than "Jet Fyre". Plus I said that was your name when she asked me what happened at school yesterday, and I didn't tell her that you were a giant alien robot.' I told him.

"So you're Jason Flynn." Mom said. "Valerie told me all about you, and from what she said you seem to be quite the character."

"Really?" Jetfire asked.

{We're going to have a talk.}

"That's right." Mom turned to look at me. "Let me get your father so that you can tell us what happened."

Mom left the living room to get Dad. I could feel Jetfire's eyes boring into me as I twiddled my thumbs nervously. I knew he was waiting for me to explain.

{Well?} He asked.

'I didn't tell her anything about you guys and the war. As far as she knows, you're just a boy that happens to go to the same school as I do.' I said. 'I told her that you were a nice guy who always managed to cheer me up whenever I was sad.'

{That's good. But why didn't you tell her that we were…uh, 'dating'?}

'Because she'd be surprised if I did.' My face heated up. 'But I have a feeling that she thinks I like you when I told her you go jealous about the secret admirer.'

{Of course you do!} Jetfire stated. {We're sparkmates, remember?}

'I know, but if I told her that then all hell would break loose in this house.' I sighed. 'When we're-I mean when I'm older we'll be able to go up to both my parents and tell them that we're engaged to each other.'

I could feel Jetfire's amusement from my slipup.

{You sliiiipped! Just because I made my holoform look younger doesn't change the fact that I'm still me. I forgot what it was like being 140,000 years old.} He said the last part thoughtfully and leaned back into the couch. {Cyber puberty was not fun at all!}

My face heated up and I didn't need to ask what he was talking about. Luckily I recovered in time just as Mom and Dad walked into the living room, but I started feeling nervous again.

"What happened?" Dad asked.

"I fell out of a tree I was climbing while I was with my friends." I told them. "Carlos got a kite and it got stuck in a tree so I offered to retrieve it."

"It's true, sir." Jetfire suddenly added. "I tried to catch her when she fell, but she still fractured her rib."

"She fractured a rib?" Mom asked, completely surprised.

"Yeah. But as least I was able to bring her back here after it happened."

"Thank you so much, Jason." Jetfire was taken by surprise when Mom suddenly hugged him. I was tempted to laugh when I sensed how awkward he felt, but I managed to resist. "Valerie couldn't ask for a better friend."

Not again…

"Since you have fractured your rib, you'll be staying home for the next two weeks."

"What? I'm not grounded?" I asked.

"No. You're not going to school for two weeks. After the first week you can leave the house, but no physical activity of any kind until the two weeks are over. You can still see your friends, but you'll only be able to watch from the side lines if they decide to play tag or climbs trees."

I sighed in relief. I wasn't going to be grounded. But then I realized that I wouldn't be allowed out of the house for the first week and it caused me to feel disappointed. Jetfire sent me reassurance, letting me know that it was going to be okay.

"Sure I wouldn't mind." Jetfire suddenly said.

I suddenly felt confused and I realized that I missed the rest of the conversation.

"Wait, what?" I asked.

"Jason agreed to help you get to your room so you can rest before he has to leave." Mom told me.

'What…?'

I lost my train of thought when Jetfire suddenly pulled me up to my feet (but at the same time he did it carefully so that I didn't hurt myself) before leading me up the stairs to my room. He helped me sit down on my bed and I was about to tell him 'thanks' when he suddenly kissed me, causing my face to heat up from the unexpected display of affection. I couldn't help but worry about my parents coming in. Before I could really enjoy the kiss Jetfire pulled away with a smile on his young looking face.

"I'll be back soon." He told me.

"Where are you going?" I asked quietly, feeling confused.

"I have to 'leave', remember? I gotta keep up the act of being a 'human teenager'. I'll be back before you know it."

With that Jetfire left my room and closed the door behind him. I lightly touched my fingers to my lips and felt my face heat up as I remembered the feeling of his warm lips on mine. I wasn't sure if I'd ever get used to him kissing me with so much love put into it.

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Jetfire was making his way down the stairs in order to inform Valerie's parents that he helped her get to her room before he had to 'leave'. But what they didn't know what that he wasn't even going to be leaving at all. He would just deactivate his holoform before letting it activate in her room, after all. But so far trying to maintain his holoform after the changes he made to it so that he looked younger was slowly starting to tire him out slightly. Jetfire had a feeling that the holoforms Red Alert created weren't supposed to be altered beyond what he allowed them to make them look like before he installed the holomatters into each of the Autobots (including himself). The only thing that wasn't a problem with changing the holoform's appearance were the clothing they made them wear (with the clothing they wore being anything they wanted it to be, or lack thereof). Hopefully he wouldn't have to keep up his holoform's appearance for long. He walked into the living room where Valerie's parents were and gave them a smile.

"I helped Valerie get to her room." He told them. "I'll be going now."

"Hold on for a minute, Jason." Valerie's father told him when he tried to head to the front door. If he remembered correct, her father's name was Thomas. Thomas came up to him and placed a fatherly hand on his shoulder. The action felt strange to Jetfire since his own father hadn't be around for most of his life (his last memory of his father was when he was teaching him how to fly and when he had gotten the call back into action). "I'd like to have a word with you before you leave, if you don't mind?"

"Not at all, sir."

Thomas lead him over to where the front door was away from where Valerie's mother (Sarah) was preparing food in the kitchen.

"You don't need to call me 'sir'. Mr. Smith will suffice." He gave Jetfire a kind smile. "I can't help but wonder why you keep calling me that, though. Was your own father in the army?"

"Actually yes, he was. I didn't really know him that well or remember him since he was killed in action when I was just 5 years old. Mom didn't take it so well when we got the news and she did everything she could to raise me ever since."

"I'm…sorry to hear that." He could see the sympathetic look on Thomas' face and he couldn't help but think of how much it reminded him of Valerie. Maybe that's where she got it from. "The reason why I wanted to talk to you before you leave is because I want to discuss my daughter with you."

"You want to talk to be about Valerie?" Now Jetfire hadn't expected this at all.

Thomas nodded.

"Valerie has never really had many friends in her life, let alone expressed any interest in boys. Yesterday was the first time she ever talked about another by like she did when she told us about you. She said that you 'practically made it your mission to help her when you learned about how low her self-esteem was' and how you always tried to cheer her up when she's sad."

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but why are you telling me this?" Jetfire had a feeling where Thomas was going with this, but he wasn't sure.

"Because I want you to know that I approve of you wanting to be with my daughter. But I must warn you that if you try to hurt her or break her heart, I won't forgive you. I can understand why you may have been jealous yesterday when you learned that she had a secret admirer and I'm glad you two made up, but I'd never seen her behave the way she did yesterday, and it's because of that that I know that she has feelings for you. So treat her well, okay?"

"Will do, Mr. Smith." Jetfire smiled. "I better get going now. Thanks for your approval."

With that Jetfire went through the front door and once he was outside he made sure that he was a fair distance away before deactivating his holoform. He activated his holoform again and it materialized inside Valerie's room.

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I jumped when Jetfire's holoform appeared in front of me. He merely grinned at me, but it seemed like he looked tired. He tiredly came over to my bed before collapsing on top of it while he faced me. I could see that he looked tired.

"Jetfire? Are you okay?" I asked him, feeling concerned.

"Just tired from having to maintain my holoform's appearance, that's all." He told me slowly and I could hear the slight exhaustion in his voice. "Apparently I wasn't meant to adjust my holoform's age like I did since I realized it takes more energy out of me."

I carefully laid down on my left side so that I was gazing into his young face. I placed a hand on his cheek and watched as he slowly closed his eyes before opening them to stare at me.

"You don't need to keep up your appearance. If it's making you so tired then change your holoform back to what it originally looked like."

Jetfire sighed and closed his eyes before his holoform flickered as his features changed back to what they were before he changed them. It was so strange watching how his body grew back into the adult form it had been and how his face had lost the slight baby fat that it had. He opened his eyes to look at me and gave me a tired smiled which I returned with one of my own. Jetfire scooted closer to me and draped an arm over my waist as his face was close to mine.

"Are you comfortable?" I asked.

"Yep. I feel like I could fall into recharge any minute…" His voice even sounded tired.

"But won't you have to go back to the base?"

"No." Jetfire shook his head. "I talked to Optimus while you were resting in the med bay, and he allowed me to stay with you for a week while you're recovering."

"What about next week?"

"We'll…cross that bridge when we get there…"

My face heated up slightly when he nuzzled his face into my neck before sighing. Despite this I smiled before slowly running my fingers through his holoform's hair and I could feel his body relax.

"Get some sleep, Jetfire…" I said quietly. "I'll be here with you the whole time."

"Thank you…Skydancer…"

I could hear Jetfire's breathing start to get deeper as he fell asleep. Aside having to maintain his holoform with the changes he made, maybe everything else that happened today made him tired as well. He did protect me from Megatron when I was nothing more than a vegetable and there were a few times when he got hit while he did so, too. All that, just for me. I can't believe I had told him I hated him earlier.

"I don't hate you, Jetfire." I whispered, even though he probably couldn't hear me. "I could never hate you. I love you too much to even think that now."

I slowly closed my eyes before I fell asleep.

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I looked around the familiar black void I was in, feeling slightly lonely as I remembered the last time I was here. A pair of arms wrapped around me from behind and I couldn't help but smile, feeling relief as I leaned back into the solid form behind me. I closed my eyes before I felt him nuzzling the crook of my neck with his face mask.

{I heard you.} Jetfire said, his slightly vibrating face mask tickling me as he spoke and caused me to laugh quietly. I had a feeling that he was smirking behind his face mask. {I love you as well, Skydancer.}

I continued laughing as his face mask vibrated against my neck, but what made it worse was that he joined in chuckling as well. Me laughing from being tickled while he laughed at my expense which seemed to create a never ending cycle of laughter. I was laughing so hard that I couldn't breathe, so I tried to calm myself down. I was able to after some time and Jetfire managed to stop laughing as well. I breathed in deeply and sighed.

"I don't feel any pain." I said.

Jetfire moved his head before placing it on top of mine.

{Weeell, that's probably because this is a dream} He chuckled. {At least you don't feel the same pain as your body does in the real world here. That's one good thing about dreams sometimes.}

"Yeah. So what took you so long to get back to my room?"

{Your Dad stopped me so that he could give me a talk before I 'left'. Turns out that he approves of me being with you. He thinks that we're dating each other, although that isn't exactly far from the truth.} I could hear the smirk in his voice. {And before you start worrying about your parents, they left before I came back inside.}

"Good." I sighed before twisting my body around in his hold so I could look at his face. "Good news is that they'll both be busy with work this week, so you'll be able to stick around while they're gone."

{And that's going to help since I'll be taking care of you.}

"Taking care of me? You mean like a nurse?"

{What?} His optics were wide in fake surprise. {Nooo! Not as a NURSE! As a CAREGIVER! Do I honestly look likea nurse or a nanny to you?}

I couldn't help but laugh as I imagined Jetfire dressed up in an old fashion nurse uniform that women wore. Okay, maybe it wouldn't have worked for him in his robotic form (although the idea was hilarious), but in his human form it would've worked more naturally.

{Stop it!} Jetfire growled quiet as he narrowed his gold optics at me and trying to intimidate me. I knew he was aware of my current thoughts of him wearing the nursing uniform. His expression had the opposite effect and I only ended up laughing harder at his expense. His voice then took on a complaining tone. {It's not funny, Skydancer!}

"I'm…sorry…! It's just…too funny!" I said, trying to stop my laughter. "Heheh…nurse Jetfire…!"

Jetfire sighed in defeat.

{Why do I get the feeling that you're going to give me trouble?}

"Since when have I ever given you trouble?" I gave him a surprised look. "Even if I did, it wouldn't have been deliberate."

{Hey! Aren't you going to include us in your conversation?"

Jetfire and I looked up and I was surprised when I saw both Astera and Silverbolt standing a ways away from us. I looked at Jetfire's face and saw that his gold optics were wide as he stared at his parents, but mostly at Silverbolt.

{Jetfire. It's so good to see you again.} Astera said. She turned to me, giving me a smile. {You too, Valerie.}

Jetfire quickly glanced at Astera before returning to Silverbolt. Silverbolt just stared back at him and seemed to treat the exchange as if it were some staring contesting. He tried to approach slowly, but Jetfire only started to back away slowly in response, seeming to be wary.

{C'mon, Jetfire! Don't look at me like I'm freaking Protoform X.} Silverbolt said jokingly.

{Who are you?} Jetfire asked hesitatingly.

{I'm glad you asked! I just so happen to be your father! The last time I saw you was 220,000 years ago when you were still THIS tall!} Silverbolt held his hand flat (with the palm down) and had to lean forward slightly as he placed in at the same height as his knee was, emphasizing his point of how tall Jetfire had been when he was only…50,000 years old if I remembered correctly.

Jetfire's optics widened in surprise as he just stared at Silverbolt. I couldn't blame him since this was his first time seeing his father in so long.

{Wha…? You're…my father?} He was shocked, no doubt about it. {Name please…?}

{Name? What kind of son asks for their father's name?} Silverbolt chuckled for a bit, but then he realized that Jetfire's expression hadn't changed at all. {Oh… Apparently mine…} He sighed. {If you were wondering what my name is, or was if you want to be technical, it's Silverbolt.}

If it had been possible for Jetfire's optics to get any wider than they were, then they did just now.

{Wait! Silverbolt? As in THE Silverbolt, leader of the Aerialbots?}

{Yep! …Wait. Since when did I get famous?} Silverbolt turned to Astera, who suddenly looked sheepish. {Astera… What exactly has happened since I was offlined?}

{Uh, well… Since you were offlined the Autobots decided to honor you as a hero of sorts. I-I had nothing at all to do with it.}

{Great…} Silverbolt sighed. {Well, Jetfire. It turns out I have quite the legacy, considering that my own son is Vice Commander of the Autobots.}

{I-I…never thought my own father, that you were be the leader of the Aerialbots.} Jetfire finally said, seeming to accept what he was being told.

{It would seem that leadership runs in the family. I gotta admit that I'm proud of you, myself!} Silverbolt turn to face me and he became somber so quickly that it surprised me. {Now, to address an issue that started yesterday. Don't think I've forgotten about you, daughter-in-law.} I felt my face heat up from the title, but then I felt guilt as I realized what he was talking about and averted my gaze. {Do you still hate him?}

"No…" I told him, completely honest. I felt tears start to form in my eyes as I felt regret from what I've said, what I've done, and how I behaved, for both yesterday and today. "I don't hate him…" My throat tightened slightly as a tear suddenly fell from my eye. "I don't hate him…"

I hate you. I fucking hate you!

I hope you burn in the Cybertronian equivalent of hell!

I ended up crying as I remembered those words I had said to Jetfire today. Those cruel words kept repeating in my head like a broken record. How could I have said that to him, even if he had been stubborn at the time? He never deserved to have those said to him, and yet I had been too bitter and indifferent to care at the time. Now they came back to haunt me. I clutched a hand over my heart and from the way it felt I couldn't help but wonder if it was actually being stabbed.

"I'm sorry…" I said quietly. "I'm so sorry…"

I felt a hand being placed on my shoulder before I was pulled close to the solid form standing behind me. Even if I couldn't feel his emotions in this place (which we had discovered at one point during our time in this place) I knew he was trying to comfort me. I knew he would've sent me that emotion through our connection if he could, along with understanding and sympathy. You know the saying 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me'? It wasn't entirely true. Words could hurt a person as much as stick and stones could, but instead of being a physical pain it was an emotional pain.

{Valerie…} I heard Jetfire say quietly in a comforting voice. {It's okay now… I know you're sorry…}

I heard Silverbolt sigh quietly.

{Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring that up.} Silverbolt admitted, sound sorry for bringing up the topic. {But at least I know you never meant what you said.}

I looked up at Silverbolt through watery eyes as I felt slight confusion.

{Dad. I know she never meant what she said, yet I know I deserved them to some extent. I was too stubborn to listen to her or anyone else, and I almost paid the ultimate price for it today. I could've lost her today and I almost did.} Jetfire sounded sad and I had a feeling that he was reminded of what happened earlier today. {I'm…sorry as well. I wouldn't blame you if you were disappointed in me.}

{Jetfire…} Astera said, sounding like she wanted to say more.

It was quiet for a bit and before I knew it both Astera and Silverbolt stood in front of us. What surprised me even more was the kind smile on both of their faces. And nothing prepared me to be pulled into a hug by Jetfire's father.

{C'mon, kiddo! Cheer up!} Silverbolt said, suddenly sounding happy which confused me greatly. {You passed in my book!}

"…Passed?" I asked.

{I needed to see if you really meant what you said today and the good thing is that you never meant it now. Plus, that incident today brought you two even more closer to each other than you were before.} I passed? The question he had asked me a few minutes ago was a test? {Welcome to the family!}

Family? Did that mean I was accepted, that I was now a part of their family? As both their daughter-in-law and Jetfire's sparkmate? I felt so many emotions: surprise, relieved, and happy.

"Thank you…" I felt the small smile form on my face.

{No need to thank us!} Silverbolt lean in closer to my hear before whispering. {Just be sure to take care of Jetfire. He can be a handful sometimes and a bit of a troublemaker.}

{Hey! I heard that, Dad!} Jetfire protested

I couldn't help but laugh, and it actually felt good to do so now after what happened a few minute ago.

"Don't worry, Silverbolt. I'll be sure to do my best."

{No, no, no! You're the one that needs to be taken care of, gimpy, not me!}

{It could go both ways, my little Jetfire.} Astera pulled away so that she could hug me as well. {Good luck to both of you. You have our blessings.}

"Wait!" I said. "You make it sound like we're going to get married tomorrow!"

{You never know, Valerie. For us Cybertronians time works differently than it does for you humans. It could be 10, or even 20 years for you before you before you get bonded to each other, but it'd be nothing more than a few months for Jetfire.}

I couldn't help but giggle quietly, feeling stupid for forgetting that.

"Oh yeah. That's right." I smiled. "Thank you so very much. I'll…do my best."

{We know you will.}

With that both Astera and Silverbolt faded away. I couldn't help but smile. I was part of the family. Jetfire wrapped his arms around my waist before sitting down on the ground with me in his lap. He held me close to his chest and placed his head on top on mine.

{Looks like everything's been settled.} Jetfire said before chuckling. {And it looks like you're officially a part of the family, Skydancer.}

"You Cybertronians have such strange customs." I told him.

{Now you know how I feel! You humans happen to have more customs than we do, and that's mainly from the fact that you're one species that has many cultures. Why can't you all be a little more simplistic?}

I giggled.

"I'm not the right person you should be asking. I'm just as confused as you are."

{You're right.} Jetfire sighed before tightening his hold on me. {I…have something to tell you.}

"What is it?" I felt curious as to what he wanted to tell me.

{How should I say this?} Jetfire was quiet for a bit as he thought. {About 14 years ago, I actually saw you in my dreams at one point. As a newborn sparkling to be exact.}

I turned my head so that I could look at him, surprised by what he said. He must've known what my silent question was since he continued.

{You were…such a beautiful sparkling, with your wide blue eyes and the small amount of hair on your head. And you had this pale pink outfit on at the time. When the dream started I was in a dark void, just like the one we're sitting in now, but then it changed to a blue sky. That was when I saw you. You looked at me in curiosity since you didn't know who I was, yet that didn't stop you from wanting me to pick you up.}

My eyes widened from what he told me. He had dreamed of me when I was just a newborn baby? I turned away from Jetfire, feeling my heart flutter as my face heated up slightly. I don't remember having a dream like that, but then again I was just a newborn baby at the time. Yet something about what he told me sounded familiar. I gasped quietly as I realized why.

"The sky…!" I said quietly. I turned to face Jetfire again. "That's the reason why I've been looking at the sky all these years!"

{Maybe. You never know.}

"I do know! I don't know how, but something tells me that's the reason why." I allowed myself to calm down. "You know how we're able to share our thoughts, right?"

{Yeah.}

"I was wondering if you would be able to show me the dream you had of me as a baby sometime when I'm awake. I feel like that would confirm something if you did."

{I'll be more than happy to show you, sweetspark.}

I smiled at him before leaning my head up to place a kiss on his gold face plate. Jetfire sighed in content, his gold optics dimming before lighting up again and gazed at me with love.

{You're not making this easy for me, you know?} He told me, referring to the fact that he didn't allow me to see his real face unless I was blindfolded so he could kiss me.

"I won't look." I said, closing my eyes. "Promise."

I heard Jetfire sigh before going quiet. After a few seconds I felt his metallic lips on mine as he kissed me. I was tempted to open my eyes to see his face, but I resisted since I had promised I wouldn't look. Jetfire parted my lips with his before his tongue entered my mouth and I shivered as he slowly stroked and caressed my tongue with his. Another temptation I felt was the urge to stroke the wings on his back. Again I had to resist since I didn't want to torture him. A thought entered my mind and I felt slightly disappointed as I realized that we wouldn't be able to do this as much in the real world since if we went too far I would just hurt myself from moving too much. After awhile our lips parted and I felt Jetfire's lips on my forehead as he placed a kiss there. He pulled his head away from me before I heard the familiar sound of his face mask coming out to cover his face.

{You can look now.} He told me.

I opened my eyes to see him looking at me and I smiled. I had a feeling he was smiling behind his face mask, but it also showed in his gold optics. He pulled me down so that I was laying on top of him as he laid down on his back. I placed my head over the Autobot symbol on his chest, closing my eyes and smiled as I felt the warm from his spark and the quiet humming it made as it pulsed subtly.

{We'll have all day to have moments like this tomorrow, along with all of this week and next week during the day and at night.} Jetfire told me. {And someday we'll be able to have them for the rest of our lives together. Just you and me, as sparkmates.}

I sighed quietly in content.

"Now you have me looking forward to the future."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

I woke up feeling slightly dazed, but there were a few things I noticed. One, Jetfire wasn't around, two, it was morning, and three, I was painfully aware of the condition of my right side (no pun intended). I just laid there on my bed as I gave myself time to wake up. I breathed in through my nose, only to noticed a something weird. Was something…burning? I sniffed a few times again, my eyes widening as I realized something was burning! As if to confirm my suspicion the smoke detectors in the house went off, blaring their shrilly alarms.

Ignoring the pain in my side I got out of bed before running (or limping) out of my room, being careful as I made my way down the steps. The smell had gotten stronger once I made it downstairs, along with the sounds of hurried footsteps coming from the kitchen. I could feel panic coming from Jetfire and upon entering the kitchen I saw why. I stared with wide eyes as I found Jetfire's holoform scrambling around as he tried to put out a pan that had caught on fire.

"Jetfire, what are you doing?" I cried, causing him to look at me with wide eyes.

Instinct took over, my pain seeming to become nonexistent as I grabbed ahold of Jetfire's wrists and quickly (and carefully) guided him over to the sink. I turned on the facet before shoving the pan he held under the cold water, causing steam to rise from making contact with the hot metal as the flames were doused. I sighed now that nothing was burning and eventually the smoke detectors stopped going off.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Jetfire nodded before averting his gaze.

"Sorry." He said awkwardly. "I was…uh…trying to make you something to eat…"

I gazed at Jetfire for a bit before I noticed a red mark on his left hand and I became worried and concerned when I realized what it was.

"You burnt yourself!"

"It not that bad!" He tried to reassure me.

"You're lying. This isn't something you can act tough about or ignore, and I know that it hurts." I held my hand out to him. "Give me your hand. I want to help you."

Jetfire just stared at my hand before hesitantly placing his hand in mine. I gently grabbed it, using my other hand to turn down the flow of the running water so that it came out slower before placing his hand under the cold water. Jetfire hissed quietly and winced slightly as the water poured onto his burn and I knew he could feel it stinging.

"It's okay, Jetfire." I told him, trying to talk to him in a soothing voice. "It may hurt now, but the water will make it feel better." I looked back at his hand still under the running water, seeing the redness from the burn. "This…isn't going to affect your real form, is it?"

"No. But I'm not going to forget the pain anytime soon." He told me.

I couldn't help the small smile that appeared on my face.

"This is why you don't mess with fire unless you know what you're doing."

"But I did! I was trying to make you something to eat since you didn't have anything yesterday!"

"I know, and I'm grateful that you tried. But there's an easier solution that doesn't involve burning yourself."

"There is?" He asked, sounding curious.

"Yep. It's called cereal."

"Cereal?"

I nodded.

"Let me do something about your hand before I show you."

I left Jetfire's side and went over to a cabinet to get out a huge bowl big enough for the purpose I planned on using it for. I placed it on the counter before taking the ice cube tray out of the freezer and popping a few cubes into the bowl. After doing that I brought the bowl over to the sink (moving Jetfire to the side a bit) so I could fill the bowl up with water, watching the cubes as they started to float on the water's surface. When I was satisfied with the amount I had I took the bowl over to the counter and placed it in the spot in front of one of the bar stools (there were three in total) there. I went back over to the sink and turned off the facet before guiding Jetfire to the seat in front of the bowl I just placed there.

"Just sit there and stick your hand into the bowl."

I watched as Jetfire gazed at the bowl of water with the ice floating around in it. After awhile he stuck his left hand into the water and I saw him flinch.

"It's cold." He said.

"It's supposed to be cold."

"But why?"

"Because whenever someone burns themselves, like you did, they're supposed to stick their hand under cold water like I had you do just awhile ago. It's supposed to help decrease the pain you feel so that it gets better."

Jetfire sighed.

"First day on the job and I'm not doing so well."

"You're doing fine. Everyone learns from their mistakes." I placed a kiss on his cheek before heading over to the fridge and pulled out a jug of milk. "First thing about making cereal is that you need milk. Then you just need the bow with the cereal that you want to eat," As this, I pulled out a box of Coco Puffs. "and a bowl to put it in. Oh, and we can't forget the spoon!" I got out a regular bowl and spoon. " You fill half of the bowl with cereal before adding the milk." I showed him how to do it before sticking the spoon in the bowl. "And that's how you make cereal."

Jetfire stared at the bowl of cereal before lifting his gaze to look at me, then back at the bowl.

"That's it?" He asked, completely surprised.

"Yeah. It's not that hard and it's pain free."

"Well, don't I feel like a slaghead." He gave me a sheepish look as he rubbed the back of his head with his good hand.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You didn't know." I placed the milk and cereal box away before picking up the bowl and heading over to sit down next to Jetfire on his right. "What were you trying to make anyways?"

"I was…trying to make eggs. Of course you know how that turned out."

I ate a few spoonfuls of cereal.

"Were you able to sleep well last night?" I asked.

Jetfire chuckled.

"Skydancer, I believe we both know the answer to that question. How's your side?"

I suddenly became aware of my fractured rib.

"Still hurts, but I'll live."

I took a deep breath, only to start coughing and feel more pain from my chest. Not only did it hurt to breath deeply, but it hurt to cough as well.

"It's okay, Skydancer. Just keep coughing and breathing normally."

"But…" I coughed. "…it hurts…"

"I know it does, but it'll only get worse if you don't."

I continued coughing, feeling like I had a cold from the way it sounded. Jetfire continued encouraging me until I managed to stop coughing. I eventually finished my cereal and drank the milk out of the bowl and I was about to get up to take the bowl to the sink, but Jetfire stopped me.

"Let me take it. I'm your caregiver, remember?"

"Whatever you say, nurse." I said when he placed the bowl in the sink.

Jetfire whipped around to face me, his gold eyes narrowing as he frowned.

"CARE…GIVER." He said, emphasizing each word with a warning tone.

I couldn't help but grin as I tried so hard not to laugh. I knew that if I did I would end up hurting myself again.

"How's your hand feeling, Jetfire?" I asked.

"Slightly better. Doesn't sting or feel like it's still on fire anymore, at least."

Jetfire came over to where I was before carefully picking me up and carrying me bridal style into the living room. He went over to the couch and sat down on it with his legs laying across the length while he sat up slightly. He had carefully situated me so that my back was leaning against his chest while my legs were laying in between his. My head rested against his shoulder and Jetfire took that chance to placed a chaste kiss on my cheek, causing my face to heat up.

"Comfortable?" He asked.

"Yeah." I was slightly confused. "Why?"

He chuckled quietly.

"I thought I could share something with you."

I was about to ask what he meant but then I felt his presence in my mind, followed by something appearing in my mind.

I saw Jetfire standing in the dark void we've be in together, but the thing was that he was alone, and I could practically feel the loneliness that he probably felt. The loneliness I felt was the kind that one got from being alone for years upon years of time.

Suddenly everything changed around his and the dark void was replaced with a clear blue sky with white clouds scattered around. I watched as his gold optics widened, as if realizing what the change of surroundings meant and excitement set in before he had to use his arms to shield his optics from the bright flash of light that appeared. I could barely see a feminine form carrying something small in their arms before they kneeled down and placed it on the ground before the light and form disappeared. Jetfire lowered his arms and his optics widened in surprise when he spotted the small baby that wore a pale pink baby outfit, with barely any hair on their head and wide blue eyes. My eyes widened in surprise when I realized that the baby was me since I had seen my baby pictures that my parents had taken years ago!

Jetfire had gone over to the baby me to get a closer look and I watched as the baby's wide blue eyes looked up at him in curiosity. I suddenly felt Jetfire's happiness and glowing neon blue tears welled up in his optics as he seemed to recognize the baby.

"Skydancer…" I heard his voice say quietly. I was surprised when I heard him call baby me by the same nickname he had given me. I had a feeling that the Jetfire I saw had probably been speaking Cybertronian, but the one I was with had managed to make it so that I understood what was being said. A single neon blue tear fell from his optics and slid down his gold face mask from the happiness he felt, the complete joy he was feeling. "My beautiful Skydancer…"

The baby me was looking up at him just like any newborn baby would when they met someone new. Jetfire was so happy that he didn't seem to care about anything else now that he had encountered the baby. He even felt hopeful as if he was one step closer to a long term goal or something. I watched as the baby me held her arms up to him as she clenched and unclenched two tiny hands. Jetfire knelt down slowly and picked baby me up and held her close to him with as much care as a mother would while holding their own baby. He stared into her blue eyes with his gold optics before baby me placed her tiny hand on his face mask.

I felt anxious as I watched Jetfire's gold face mask started to retract itself and I thought I was finally going to be able to see what his face looked like, but his face ended out being too blurred and distorted for me to make out any features and I felt disappointed. Even in this vision he still wouldn't let me see his face. I felt Jetfire's surprise when baby me touched his face and I felt my heart swell up in joy, happiness, and love and I realized that this must've been exactly how his spark must've felt at that time.

"I know for a fact that you'll grow up to be a beautiful femme, Skydancer. And someday we'll finally be able to meet each other and become sparkmates." Jetfire said quietly to baby me. "You probably won't remember this wonderful dream when you're older, but that won't stop you from knowing that I love you."

I felt my heart flutter in warm love for him and I held a hand over my heart as tears started falling from my eyes from how happy I was. Jetfire had known about me before he even met me, before we had even became friends and lovers. He loved me before he even knew me. He had held me as a baby and knew that I wasn't going to remember the dream we both shared at that time. Was this…where it all started? Where my fascination with the sky had started?

Jetfire sighed in content before I heard him sing the Cybertronian Lullaby, but this time it was being sung in what I assumed was Cybertronian. Now that I heard him singing it in Cybertronian I noticed how familiar it sounded to my eyes.

I found myself opening my eyes and realized that I was back in the living room laying against Jetfire as he held me on the couch we were on. I noticed that I had been crying, that I still was as tears silently fell from my eyes. Even now I could feel Jetfire's love for me as he held me close and I smiled.

"Thank you." I told him, trying to show him how much I loved him by sending my emotions to him. "Thank you, Jetfire." I closed my eyes. "It was…such a wonderful dream."

Jetfire leaned forward enough so that his face was close to mine. I turned my head slightly to face him before he captured my lips with his. Jetfire was careful as he kissed me, making sure not to get carried away in case he accidentally ended up hurting me. I felt him express how much he loved me by sending his emotions to me like I had done just awhile ago and I felt oh so happy. It was almost like I was in heaven or a paradise created specifically for both Jetfire and I.

'I love you…' I told him.

Jetfire pulled away before I felt his lips brush up against my ear.

"I know." He told me quietly. "I love you as well, my beautiful Skydancer."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

A week had passed since I had fractured my rib and Jetfire had been by my side the whole time while taking care of me. I found it funny that ever since I showed him how to make cereal he had been giving it to me to eat, but after a few days I started getting tired of eating the same thing so I had to teach him how to make a simple ham and cheese sandwich. It was worth it in the end since I got to eat something different and that Jetfire was happy to learn how to cook (or prepare food) without having to worry about burning down the house in the process. By now I had gotten well enough to walk on my own with only a bit of soreness, and the best part was that I could leave the house to hang out with my friends at the base since this whole week was a school break for all of us. That also meant that Jetfire had to return to the base to do his duties as Vice Commander, but…

"What?" I exclaimed, staring at the dashboard inside Jetfire's shuttle form with wide eyes. In case you were wondering why I was inside Jetfire (okay, that just sounded wrong. And did he just chuckle at me?) it was because he was flying to the base. I was sitting in a seat with the safety harness strapped across my chest to keep me in place. "You're going to try and take care of me while you're working?"

"I'm not going to try, I'm going to do!" Jetfire told me. "Your wellbeing is just as important as my duties."

"But you're just adding more to your workload than you should! You'll end up working yourself to death!"

"Don't worry! It'd be impossible to work myself to the point of off lining. Besides, whatcha gonna do about it?"

"I'll tell Optimus about it and have him make you see reason."

Jetfire busted out laughing and his shuttle form shook slightly from the action.

"So you're gonna be a snitch and tattle-tell on me?" It was more of a statement than a question and I had the feeling that if he could he'd be smirking. "Nice try, kiddo, but that's not gonna work! It just so happens that I called ahead of time to cancel your appointment with him!"

"You knew I would try to do that, didn't you?" I asked.

"Yep! Like I told you awhile back, you've become predictable. Now I'll ask again: whatcha gonna do about it? You have some plan you're gonna use to stop me?"

I stared at the dashboard and narrowed my eyes. I could feel his smugness through the connection.

"I didn't think so!" He stated, knowing that he won.

"Oooh, you're good." I said, lowering my voice. "You're reeeaaal good."

Jetfire chuckled.

"Why else do you think I'm considered a strategist for the Autobots?"

Eventually we arrived at the base, but none of use were expecting the welcoming committee we got.

"Well, long time no see, I guess." Jetfire said.

"Jetfire!" Hot Shot suddenly went up to Jetfire and hugged him. "I missed you!"

Jetfire was quiet as he stared down at Hot Shot, unsure what to make of the situation he was in.

"Okay, what is it?" He asked, seeming suspicious of the yellow mech.

"Oh, nothing much. I thought you could referee a match between me and Sideswipe."

"That's it? And you couldn't ask anyone else?"

"You haven't been around for a week so we wanted you to see how much we've improved."

"Alright, fine." Jetfire turned to look down at me when Hot Shot released him. "Hopefully you'll be fine without me for awhile."

"I will." I nodded.

With that Jetfire left with Hot Shot and Sideswipe as they made their way to the training room. I was soon approached by Alexis, Rad, Carlos, Billy, and Fred.

"How are you doing, Valerie?" Alexis asked.

"I'm doing fine." I told her.

"You look a little better than you did the last time we saw you." Rad pointed out.

"Wanna help us out with our little project we're working on?"

"Project?" Now I was confused.

"Yeah!" Carlos replied before whispering. "We're making a surprise for our guest."

It took me awhile to realize they were referring to Starscream. I smiled, knowing I'd be able to do something.

"I'd be glad to help."

"Great! We've been working on it for a few days now in the rec room!" Alexis told me.

I went with them as we made our way down the hallway to the rec room.

"So how did you explain your fractured rib to your parents?" Billy asked.

"I told them that Carlos got a kite and that we were playing until it got stuck in a tree, which I happened to fall out of while trying to retrieve it." I explained.

"But I don't have a kite." Carlos stated.

"I know, but you were the first person that popped into my head at the time and I went along with it. Plus they bought it."

"Well at least it's good to know you're getting better." Fred said.

We were just coming up to the door leading into the rec room when we the loud sound of footsteps heading our way, along with the sound of Hot Shot and Sideswipe yelling as we saw them running down the hallway as if their lives depended on it.

"Hey, bro? Are you still sure it was worth it?" Sideswipe yelled.

"Normally I would be, but I don't know anymore!" Hot Shot yelled back.

They ran right past us and I couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about or why they were running. The answer soon presented itself in the form of an angry Jetfire running after them looking as if a huge bucket of pink paint had been dumped on top of him and it was dripping down his body and creating a trail of pink paint.

"You better run, you punks! 'Cause when I get my servos on you, you're both gonna be wishing you hadn't done that when you're being sent to the med bay!" Jetfire yelled furiously.

My eyes widened as he ran past us, realizing he had blocked his thoughts and emotions from me because of this! Everything made sense! Hot Shot and Sideswipe had pulled at prank on Jetfire and the result was what I just witnessed.

"I can't believe it! Those two actually pulled it off?" Billy asked in surprise.

"Looks like it!" Rad replied.

Alexis sighed.

"We warned them not to do it." She said exasperated.

"You mean you warned them." Carlos pointed out. "C'mon!"

Everyone started running after them (while Fred complained about running on an empty stomach) and I followed after them, gritting my teeth from the pain in my side.

"Are we going to stop them?" I asked.

"You're kidding right? There's no way we'll be able to stop Jetfire for beating them into scrape, so we might as well watch!"

I was worried about what Jetfire would do to Hot Shot and Sideswipe. I could understand that he would be angry about having pink paint dumped on his and all (I would be too), but I had a feeling that he was going to do something he'd regret later. We eventually found them up head (thanks to the trail of pink paint Jetfire left behind) with Hot Shot and Sideswipe being cornered by Jetfire as he glared down at them with his gold optics. I knew Jetfire was trying to be intimidating, but the pink paint that was still dripping down his body wasn't helping, and despite this the two Autobots looked horrified as they stared up at the Vice Commander. We were all trying so hard not to laugh and I found myself taking a picture with my phone (which luckily Jetfire didn't notice).

"Look who's laughing now." Jetfire growled.

"H-hey, Jetfire! N-no need to be angry!" Hot Shot stuttered fearfully. "I-it was only a joke, a-and jokes are supposed to be funny and make you laugh! R-right, Sideswipe?"

"Y-yeah!" Sideswipe agreed.

Jetfire chuckled darkly and I felt a chill go down my spine from how intimidating it sounded.

"Does it look like I'm laughing?"

"Y-yeah!"

"U-uh, bro? I-I don't think he was laughing for the same reasons we think."

"You're right. I'm not. And you're about to see why."

"WHOA! JETFIRE!" Hot Shot cried out. I winced when Jetfire hit him, leaving a nice dent on his head. "THE PAINT IS WASHABLE! IT'S NOT PERMINANT!"

"Maybe next time you'll think before pranking someone!"

'Jetfire, don't!' I told him.

Jetfire stopped after hitting Sideswipe in the head and dropped them before growling down at them.

"Be glad I didn't do anything worse!" He said. "As punishment you can clean up the paint that's all over the place!"

Jetfire turned around and started walking down the hallway we had come from. I knew he wanted me to follow him and I did. I was careful to avoid the paint on the ground that was still dripping off of him and he didn't hide his emotions of how angry he was about the prank. He stopped in front of the door leading into his quarters before I followed him inside. As soon as the doors slid shut behind us he sighed.

"I need to get this paint off." He said.

"Do you need me to help?" I suddenly found myself asking, and I felt my face heat up as he looked down at me.

"Don't know, but I might as well just in case."

Jetfire carefully picked me up and headed over to a door I hadn't noticed before. It turned out to be a room that had a floor drain in the corner while a showerhead came out of the wall as it hung high enough that it was above Jetfire's head. The door was slightly elevated about the ground by at least two feet so that water wouldn't leak out from underneath it when it was closed. At the far end of the room that was away from the showerhead and the door was an area that had what looked like a transformer sized towel. I realized that it was a shower room of sorts that could've been compared to the size of a normal bathroom for humans, except it being big enough for a transformer.

"This is a really big shower." I said.

"Yep! You humans may refer to it as a shower, but for us it's referred to as a refresher."

"A refresher?"

Jetfire nodded.

"You might want to take your shoes off." Jetfire told me. "And probably your clothes as well."

My face heated up as I started feeling nervous and anxious.

"W-what?"

"I don't mean it like that, Skydancer! I thought you'd probably want your clothes to stay dry! It's not like I'm gonna to do anything to you!"

My face got even more warmer than it already was and I averted my gaze. This was a shower room, Jetfire needed to get paint off him, and that meant that I'd end up getting soaked from the water. I hesitantly nodded my head before Jetfire headed over to the far end of the shower room where the towel was and lowered me to the smooth floor. I started by taking my shoes off, stuffing my socks into them, but then I started feeling embarrassed and self-conscious so I turned my back to face him as I took off my clothes, leaving myself in my bra and underwear in order to retain some form of modesty. I glanced at Jetfire and I felt his confusion as he gave me a look that expressed what he was feeling.

"You're going to leave those on?" He asked, unaware of what it was that he was saying.

My face heated up again. He honestly didn't know the purpose of undergarments and I wasn't sure what to tell him.

"I'll be fine." I told him. "I'll have dry clothes anyways."

I sensed that he felt awkward, but at the same time understood why I decided to keep my undergarments on. He probably looked into my mind or read my thoughts to find out my reasons for doing so. I then remembered the pink paint that he was still covered in and placed a hand over my mouth as I tried to stop myself from laughing.

"Skydancer!" Jetfire complained. "It's not funny!"

"I'm sorry!" I giggled. "Has anyone ever told you that pink seems to compliment your appearance?"

"You're joking, right?" Jetfire just stared at me with an incredulous look. "Only femmes are the ones to be painted pink, and that's only if they were born that way or chose to be painted that way willingly."

"Okay, fine! It's just different, that's all. I think red suits you better anyways."

Jetfire chuckled quietly.

"Red. Now that's more like it."

Jetfire turned to head over to the shower (I mean refresher) knob and I went a little closer to where he was before I yelped as I was suddenly drenched in cold water. On instinct I wrapped my arms around myself in an attempt to keep myself warm as goosebumps formed on my exposed skin. Jetfire carefully scooped me up in one hand and held me close to his chest (which had pink paint being rinsed off from it) over his spark chamber to provide me with some warmth.

"Sorry about that. Takes the water awhile to heat up." He told me sheepishly.

"Y-you c-could've…w-warned m-me…" I said through chattering teeth.

"Don't worry. I'll keep you warm."

Jetfire went to take a seat on the floor with his back leaning against the wall as he did. He continued to keep me warm by holding me close to him and I was more than grateful to press myself against the warm metal. Over time the water started to warm up to a comfortable temperature and Jetfire moved so that he was sitting under the spray coming from the showerhead. I watched as the pink paint was easily washed off of his form so that he was back to his normal coloration, the water and paint mixing together before flowing down the drain. But even after all the paint was washed off of him Jetfire went back to leaning against the wall as he relaxed and from where I now stood on the floor I saw his gold optics dim.

I was about to head over to sit next to him when I felt a pair of warm arms circle around me from behind as a form was pressed against my back. I turn my head around as best as I could and I found Jetfire's holoform was out, but he only wore his gray wife beater and cargo pants, which happened to be getting soaked from the warm water that was falling on both of us. I felt my face heat up and turned my head away as I remembered what I was wearing (or lack of). I shivered as I felt his lips on my neck as he kiss and lightly bit at the skin. My heart seemed to beat faster as he continued and my stomach did flips when I felt his hand lightly brushing my stomach as he stroked it. I let out a quiet moan when he suddenly started licking the water that was running down my neck and it felt…nice.

"Jetfire…" I moaned quietly.

"That's right. That's my name, my beautiful Skydancer." He whispered into my ear.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts as I remembered where we were. I sighed quietly and I sensed that Jetfire was wondering what was wrong.

"We can't do this here." I told him. "Not yet."

Jetfire sighed, seeing my point.

"You're right. And we can't stay in here forever, anyways."

Jetfire turned my head to face him so that he could give me a kiss before his holoform disappeared. I turned back to face Jetfire's real form just in time to see his optics light up and he scooped me up into his hand before getting up to turn off the water. As soon as the water was off goosebumps formed on my skin as I was assaulted by the air that felt cold to my body. Jetfire went over to the area where the towel and my clothes were, which both happened to be dry due to their location in the room, and he placed me on the floor before picking up the towel to dry himself of. I turned my gaze away, feeling slightly awkward about watching him as my face heated up a bit. As soon as he was done he placed the towel on the floor before picking me up to place me on top of it, tucking me in as if it were a huge bed.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Trying to get you dry." He told me as if it were the most obvious thing. "I can't have you going around freezing yourself off."

I giggled quietly.

"It's a huge towel."

"Now that was random."

"So what? It's nice, warm, and soft. Like you."

Jetfire chuckled, his optics brightening slightly in amusement.

"You dork. Just focus on getting yourself dry, Skydancer."

It was like this for a few minutes with just me and Jetfire talking like this before I was dry enough to get my clothes back on. We (or more like he) had to leave so he could get back to work while taking care of me at the same time.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Alexis sat with Rad, Carlos, Billy, and Fred on the floor in the rec room as they worked on sewing the multiple cloth they had. The thing was that they weren't all the same color so the finished product was going to be a huge mismatch of colored cloth. The boys were doing an okay job, but they weren't doing so well when it came to not poking their fingers with the needles they were using. She had to admit it was funny to watch and even she couldn't help but giggle occasionally.

But she couldn't help but think back on what happened earlier. Jetfire had suddenly stopped hitting Hot Shot and Sideswipe he caught them and Valerie had followed him when he left, almost like a little puppy would follow their owner. It was just strange and they her friend spent almost all her time with him as well. Alexis hadn't missed how Jetfire's attitude had changed when Fred told everyone about Valerie's secret admirer a week ago and it was almost as if he were jealous. He even ignored and avoided her and her friend hadn't been the same when it happened. Something must've happened that day when Valerie fractured her rib. She just knew it. Why else would Jetfire have been worried about her when he brought her to the med bay? Was she right when she assumed that her friend had feelings for the Autobot Vice Commander?

Her thoughts then wandered to Starscream. She knew that he didn't seem to fit in with the other Autobots (and it didn't help that most of them still didn't trust him), but she believed that he was truly genuine when he said that he want to be a part of the Autobots. There was something about him that she liked. True he had a nice looking face (she'd even go as far as to say she found him attractive) and his personality was one that she found…appealing. Maybe it was the whole 'bad boy' personality that she liked. Alexis remembered when she had him watch Lion King 2 with her and Valerie and how curious he had been while watching the Disney movie. It reminded her of a child watching their first cartoon movie with their family, and it was almost as if Starscream was curious about human culture.

Alexis had brought another movie with her since she planned to watch it with her friend that night (good thing this whole week was a school break), but maybe she could include the Autobots and Starscream as well. She stopped sewing for a bit and stood up.

"Hey, Alexis. Where're you going?" Rad asked.

"I'm just going out for a bit so I can clear my thoughts, that's all." She told him, not wanting him to know her real reason.

"Okay. We'll be here when you get back."

Alexis left the rec room and started wandering down the hallway. For some reason something told her to go outside. She didn't know why, but she felt that she might find Starscream there. Imagine how surprised she was when she did find him outside sitting near the ledge. Alexis suddenly felt unsure if she wanted to talk to him or not now seeing as he appeared to be thinking about something. Maybe he didn't even know she was there or something, so he wouldn't notice if she left, right?

"I know you're there, so you might as well come out." Starscream suddenly said, causing Alexis to jump. He hadn't even turned around to look at her and this left her confused. It seemed safe enough so Alexis decided to approach him.

"How did you even know I was here?" Alexis asked.

"Call it…intuition." He replied after awhile, making it sound like it was the most obvious thing. "Was there something you needed?"

"Not really. I just wanted to talk, that's all." She smiled. "Mind if I sit next to you?"

"I don't care. Do whatever you wish."

Alexis took that as a 'yes' and carefully took a seat on a nearby rock that was next to Starscream. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, admiring his proud posture as he sat.

"I never exactly got the chance to ask you, but did you enjoy the movie we watched with Valerie last week?" Alexis asked.

"Strangely enough I did." He replied. "It was…interesting to see, yet it had a compelling storyline."

"It's good to see that you enjoyed it, Starscream." She turned to look up at him. "What would you say about seeing another movie tonight?"

Starscream turned his head to look down at her, his orange red optics showing curiosity.

"Another movie? Tonight? I guess that'll be fine. What's it called?"

"Sorry, but I can't tell you. It's a surprise." Alexis giggled when she saw the look on Starscream's face.

"Usually I'm not one for surprises, but if you insist."

"You wouldn't mind if I invited everyone to walk, right?"

Starscream looked away from her and gaze at the ground. She started to become worried that he wouldn't want that or he might change his mind about watching the movie tonight, but then he sighed.

"It wouldn't really matter if I said 'no.'"

"You don't have to think about it as a bad thing." She told him. "We could all watch it together in the rec room. You know, like a family movie night or sort."

"Family…"

Alexis noticed the change in Starscream's raspy voice and she wasn't sure why, but he sounded melancholy for some reason.

"What's wrong, Starscream?"

"I was…just reminded of my own family, that's all."

Oh. She wasn't sure how to approach this topic. She knew that talking about family was one of those personal aspects when it came to a person and she knew the transformers were no different. Maybe she should leave the topic alone. After all, this was Starscream.

"You're curious, aren't you?" He asked.

Alexis jumped slightly and realized Starscream was looking at her.

"I am, but if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."

Starscream turned to look at the sky and seemed to be quietly thinking about something before he spoke.

"My creators were neutrals before this war even started between the Autobots and Decepticons. I happened to have two brothers named Thundercracker and Skywarp."

"What are your brothers like?"

"Thundercracker is…bearable, but words can't describe how much he hates me. I could care less if he hated me or not, but at least he's smart enough to listen to me most of the time. I'm surprised that he's even a Decepticon with how pathetic he is at times. Skywarp, on the other hand, makes Cyclonus look sane and acts completely immature with the way he chooses to use his abilities to warp around as a tool for his pranks." Starscream frowned slightly. "Personally, there are times when I can't stand them at all, even though we're fighting for the Decepticon cause, and there are times when we might as well try to offline each other. They're completely loyal to Megatron and they act like suck ups that it's despicable. But they're my wingmates while I'm the leader of our trine of seekers."

Despite the things Starscream said about his brothers, Thundercracker and Skywarp (and the way he talked about them sounded like they were his worst enemy), there seemed to be a sense a love behind his words, giving her the impression that his relationship between his brothers was the 'love-hate' kind.

"What do they look like?"

"They both look like me, except that Thundercracker is mainly blue, while Skywarp is mainly purple."

"Wait! You said that they were seekers right? Then does that mean that all seekers look like you, Starscream?"

Alexis was surprised when Starscream suddenly started laughing. Not one that was maniacal or intimidating, but a genuine laugh that expressed amusement.

"That's preposterous!" He told her. "If all seekers looked like me, then Megatron would've had a fun time trying to tell us all apart. But no, they don't. Thundercracker and Skywarp just happened to be created from the same spark."

"Created from the same spark? How is that possible?" Alexis asked.

"The process is similar to how you humans have twins or triplets. I guess you could consider us to be triplets."

Alexis smiled.

"I see. I guess that makes sense. Thanks for telling me about your family." Starscream didn't comment. Alexis turned to look at the sky as she felt a light breeze blowing before getting up. "It was nice talking to you. See you tonight for the movie."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Starscream silently watched as Alexis went back inside the base before turning back to look at the sky. He hadn't expected to tell her about Thundercracker and Skywarp, but he had felt the need to tell her. He frowned, recalling what he felt whenever Alexis was around him. He clenched his fists, feeling irritated. There was no way that she was his sparkmate! But no matter how hard he tried to deny it, to even forget about it, there was some way that it always came back and the feelings along with it. That was how he had known she was behind him when she came outside. Starscream was aware of how close Jetfire was to that human femme, Valerie, and he was honestly scared of having that happened to him. Not only because Alexis was human, but because she would be considered a weakness.

'Curse my spark for having these annoying feelings.' He thought bitterly.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

I watched as Jetfire worked, sitting at a desk in an office I didn't even know he had. He watched a monitor that showed footage from previous battles, occasionally pausing the footage to type something into what appeared to be a mini laptop that was transformer sized (which he told me was called a data pad) before resuming to watch the footage. Every once in awhile he would glance over at me in order to see how I was doing (and sometimes he would reach over to gently stroke a finger along the side of my head or down my back) before turning back to his work. I noticed that his gold optics would dim slightly before brightening (reminding me of how a person's eyes would droop as they tried to fight off sleep) and I could sense that he was feeling tired. I got concerned and stood up to go over to him.

"Jetfire. Maybe you should take a break from working." I suggested.

Jetfire looked down at me and sighed tiredly.

"I can't, Skydancer. I have to finish this data pad." He told me. "Plus, I'm almost done with it anyways."

I frowned.

"That's what you said an hour ago! You're working yourself too hard!"

"Don't worry about me! I'll be fine! If anyone should be worrying, it's me, and that's when it comes to your health."

I sighed in defeat, knowing that Jetfire would be too stubborn to listen to me. I had tried earlier today when he was multitasking between taking care of (or mothering) me and going around for any updates he had missed while he was away. I even insisted that he didn't worry about me and just focus on his duties, but of course he overruled me not only because of his rank, but because he was my sparkmate. I personally don't understand how Astera expected me to look after her son when he wouldn't listen to me. Would I have this problem when I was older and married (or bonded) to him?

"I give up. I'll just rest up for a bit."

"That's fine. You need to anyways."

'You're one to talk…' I thought.

I went back to the spot I had been sitting at before I got up, and I laid down on my left side before closing my eyes. I was probably asleep for only 30 minutes when something suddenly slammed on top of the desk and I was jolted away. I looked to where it came from, only to have my eyes widen when I found Jetfire laying the left side of his face down on the desk, his optics completely dimmed as I realized he fell into recharge. He…literally worked himself to the point of exhaustion. I got up before wandering over to his head and placed a hand on his face mask.

"You should've listened to me." I said quietly, my voice a whisper. "I knew something like this was going to happen." I gave a small smile before placing a kiss on his face mask. "Rest for now, Jetfire."

I looked around the desk to see if I could find a way down, and the funny thing was that I did (I found it strangely convenient how the Autobots had ladders made for humans to use). I carefully started climbing down the ladder, feeling only a slight bit of discomfort from doing so due to my fractured rib, but I eventually made it to the bottom. I glanced back at Jetfire and seeing that he was still in recharge I did my best to quietly leave the room. I really didn't know where I wanted to go since I didn't have anywhere in mind so I randomly chose to go in a direction and walk.

Hopefully I could remember how to get back to Jetfire's office…

I thought back on what happened when I had been with Jetfire in the shower. I thought of how he had activated his holoform without me knowing and how he held me. I could remember how my skin had slightly tingled from his touch. My face heated up and I shook my head. I shouldn't be thinking like this, at least not yet! Why was I even thinking like this in the first place?

I heard metal footsteps coming from around the corner and I was surprised to see Optimus appear as he turned the corner. He stopped as soon as he spotted me…and I felt like I was in trouble.

"It's good to see you, Valerie." Optimus said, his gold optics seeming to smile at me.

I felt myself slightly relax from his tone and quietly sighed.

"Same here." I replied.

"So what are you doing here? I thought you were with Jetfire."

"I-I was." I averted my gaze, feeling slightly nervous all of a sudden. "He fell asleep while working."

Optimus chuckled, something that surprised me.

"I'm not surprise. I told him to take it easy with his work, but he insisted on doing everything he missed and taking care of you at the same time."

"I told him to take a break, multiple times, to be exact, but he didn't listen." I sighed. "I don't understand why he's so stubborn at time, Optimus."

"Most of us wonder the same thing. Jetfire is the kind of person that doesn't give up so easily when presented with a challenge, and he'll keep trying until he succeeds." I was confused when Optimus knelt down before holding a hand out to me. "Let's go to my office so we can continue our conversation."

I was slightly hesitant at first, but then I nodded my head before climbing into his hand. It surprised me how gentle Optimus was as he carried me (he was just as gentle as Jetfire was when handling me), but I guess I should've expected that since he was the kind of person that wanted to protect all live. I couldn't help but wonder why Optimus wanted to continue our conversation in his office. What was is that he wanted to talk to me about that couldn't be said out in the hallway?

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Jetfire woke up from recharge and felt slightly confused. When did he fall into recharge? He sat up in his chair and was about to resume his work, but then noticed something. His gold optics widened and they searched urgently over the surface of his desk.

"Valerie?" He called, becoming desperate since he didn't see her anywhere. He couldn't find her! In fact, he didn't see her anywhere in the room! His optics widened as he realized that she must've left the room! "Slaggit! How in the pit did she even manage to get down from the desk in the first place?"

Jetfire rushed out of the room, unaware of the fact that his desk had a ladder built into it.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Before I knew it Optimus had arrived to his office and as soon as he entered the room he closed the door behind him. He approached his desk and carefully placed me on top before taking a seat in the huge chair behind it.

"I know that you probably feel nervous right now, and I can understand why, but what I'm about to discuss with you will be confidential."

"Confidential? Just between the two of us?" I asked.

"Correct." Optimus nodded. "There are some things I'll ask that will seem personal and I don't mean any harm in asking you. Are you okay with this?"

"Yes."

"Good. How is your rib?"

"It's doing okay. It's still sore whenever I walk and such, but at least it's not as bad as it was when I got hurt."

"I see. About the incident that happened between you and Jetfire last week, can you tell me what happened from your point of view?"

I hung my head, wanting to avoid Optimus' kind gaze. I felt conflicted about telling him what happened or not.

"We…had an argument. And then we were attacked by Megatron."

Optimus was quiet and I could feel his gaze on me.

"I know there's more to what happened than you're telling me, Valerie. Why are you afraid to tell me?"

"It's just…It doesn't feel right to be talking about this. And I feel like I'd be betraying Jetfire's trust or something."

"You're unsure about telling me because you're worried about Jetfire?" It was more of a statement than a question. I nodded my head. Optimus sighed. "I can understand how you feel, but you don't need to be worried about telling me."

I looked up at Optimus in surprise and felt confused.

"What do you mean, Optimus?"

"I'm aware of what's going on between the two of you. Jetfire and I have been friends for a long time and he trusts me enough to confide in me about your relationship. I hope you can trust me enough to do the same."

"Then you know about us being sparkmates?"

"I do."

I felt a little better. If Jetfire trusted Optimus enough to tell him about us, then I should trust him as well.

"We had an argument, but it wasn't pleasant at all. I felt like I was a completely different person that day, someone I never wanted to be, yet I ended up becoming that person. I was so angry at him and the face that he accused me of something I didn't do and he said some nasty thing to me." I felt my throat tighten slightly as tears formed in my eyes and I clenched a hand over my heart. "I told him that I hated him, I yelled at him, and to make matters worse I brought his mother into our argument despite the fact I knew how personal it was. I knew it made him angry, but I didn't even care that he pulled his blaster on me and threaten to kill me. I was prepared to die and everything, but I told him to looking into my mind to see if I ever betrayed him. Then Megatron attacked us, but I was in this vegetable-like state when he appeared. I didn't even feel any pain when he squeezed me, and I didn't even feel surprise when Jetfire suddenly started protecting me. I was aware of what was happening, but I couldn't do anything. When it was over I was still in that state. Jetfire told me he was sorry. He even cried and said he wanted me back."

By the time I finished I realized I was crying. I tried to stop myself and wipe away the tears, but more just seemed to replace them. No matter how many times Jetfire (or his parents) forgave me for what happened I still felt horrible about it. Even thinking about what happened made me feel sad.

"It's okay to cry, Valerie." Optimus said in a comforting voice. "He really does care for you, you know?" At this I calmed down and looked up at him through watery eyes. "After all the time I've known Jetfire, I've never seen him cry. He didn't even cry at his mother's funeral even though I knew he wanted to. But the fact that he cried for you shows just how much you mean to him, how important your life is to him. He once told me after Astera's funeral that if he ever found his sparkmate he'd do anything to keep her smiling. The strategies he had given me the day before that incident showed that he thought about you when he came up with them. That's how much he cares about you."

I had fresh tears form in my eyes from what Optimus told me and I couldn't stop them from falling as I felt my heart swell in happiness and love. I knew Jetfire cared about me and that I was important to him, but I never thought he would go as far as to come up with strategies with my wellbeing in mind. He was giving his best for my sake and now I realized why he had been working so hard on the strategies he was creating before he fell asleep earlier.

"I never knew." I said quietly. "I'm so happy knowing that I mean that much to him."

"And you should. To him, you're practically his universe, his everything."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Jetfire had searched frantically for Valerie, even going as far as to check inside everyone's quarters (resulting in a few protests from his fellow Autobots who were trying to have some down time), and he still couldn't find her! But then he realized something. He hadn't check Optimus' office! He wasn't sure if she'd be in there, but it was the only place he hadn't looked. So Jetfire ending up rushing to Optimus' office. He just hoped she was there!

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

I had managed to dry my tears after crying and I was about to tell Optimus something when the door leading out of his office suddenly hissed open, followed by Jetfire's frantic voice.

"Optimus! Have you seen…" I turned around to look at Jetfire as he trailed off and his gold optics widened in surprise when he spotted me. "…Valerie?"

"You're just in time, Jetfire. Valerie and I had just finished our discussion." Optimus said calmly.

"Discussion?" Jetfire asked.

"Yes. We talked about how she's been recovering under your care and it looks to me that you've been doing a good job."

"Oh. Thanks, sir."

"Earlier today Alexis as asked permission for everyone on base to watch a movie tonight." Optimus explained. "It would be a perfect opportunity for all of us to enjoy each other's company as we all relax."

"All of us watching a movie?"

"Correct. I suggest you take the rest of the day off and see the movie with everyone tonight."

At this Jetfire's optics widened.

"But Optimus! You know I have work I need to catch up on!"

"I'm well aware of that, but a little bird informed me that you've been working hard today. You're deserved it."

Jetfire glanced over at me in surprise, but it changed to gratitude when they softened.

"Thank you, Optimus."

Jetfire came over to Optimus' desk to scoop me up before leaving the office. I sighed quietly as I felt the love my sparkmate sent my way, and I replied by doing the same.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Jetfire carried me in his hand as he head to the rec room. Tonight we (as in the Autobots-and ex-Decepticon-and my friends) would all be watching a movie that Alexis had brought with her. For the longest time so far for today I've been wondering what it was since she was adamant about not telling anyone until we all came to see it. We soon came up to the door leading into the rec room and when we entered I saw that everyone (except for Scavenger, Blurr, Hot Shot, and Sideswipe) was here. Jetfire lowered me to the floor so that I could join my friends while he talked with Red Alert (who came up to him first). I went up to Alexis who had just closed the DVD player after she placed a disc into the tray.

"So, Alexis." I started, causing her to look at me. "Are you going to tell us what movie we're all watching?"

Alexis grinned, knowing what I was trying to do.

"Nice try, Valerie, but I'm not saying anything until everyone's here." She told me. "The boys tried to do the same thing earlier."

"Hey, guys! We got the popcorn!" Billy announced.

I turned to see Billy and Fred coming out of the human kitchen (don't ask) with two large bowls filled to the brim with popcorn. The smell of it made my mouth water.

"Yeah! And we made enough for everyone to eat!" Fred said excitedly.

"Uh, Fred? You do realize that none of the Autobots are able to eat popcorn, right?" Carlos asked.

At this Fred suddenly looked disappointed.

"Aww… And I even buttered it and everything."

"Oh well. I guess it's the thought that counts." Rad said.

"Aww, c'mon, Scavenger!"

We all turned to the now opened door to see Hot Shot and Sideswipe each had a hold on Scavenger's arms as they tried to pull him into the room while I could see Blurr trying to push the stubborn mech inside.

"No!" Scavenger told them irritably. He did not look happy at all.

"Don't be like that, Scavenger! We all know that you could use a little R&R!" Sideswipe added.

"And I said that I didn't want to!"

"Stop being stubborn, you old mech!" Blurr retorted, sounding like he was having a bit of trouble trying to push him inside. "If I have to watch it, then you have to as well!"

"So that's what took you four so long." Optimus said, sounding amused. "There's no need to be stubborn, Scavenger. I thought it would probably do us some good if we all had a chance to relax by watching the movie Alexis brought with her."

"But Optimus!" Scavenger protested.

"Do I need make it an order for you?"

Scavenger growled quietly, knowing that he wasn't going to win. He pushed Hot Shot and Sideswipe away from him.

"Fine." He said, making his way to one of the transformer sized chairs and sitting down. "I'll watch this movie with everyone."

Some of the Autobots chose to sit on the floor while the others occupied their own chairs. Carlos, Billy, and Fred sat on one couch with their own bowl of popcorn to share while I happened to be sitting on the end of another couch I shared with Alexis and Rad. Jetfire happened to be sitting near the armrest my right arm was resting on, knowing that he wanted to be close to me.

"So are you going to tell us what movie we're watching, Alexis?" Rad asked once we were all seated.

Alexis stood up from her spot between Rad and I and turned to look at everyone.

"Okay, everyone! The movie we are watching tonight is called A Chinese Ghost Story: The Tsui Hark Animation. It's a Chinese animated film that was created back in 1997 that's loosely based on an old Chinese literature called Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. But the one I have is a DVD with the English, Cantonese, and Mandarin audio." Alexis explained. "Of course we'll be watching it in English so let me start the movie and turn off the light so we can start it."

Alexis went up to the DVD player (grabbing the remote in the process) and pressed play before turning off the lights and rushing back to her spot between Rad and I. I could sense Jetfire's excitement as the movie showed a Chinese guy who was trying to get away from a aquatic looking serpent before encountering the form of a woman (that changed into another woman who he called Siu Lan) The guy woke up and accidentally hit his dog, Solid Gold, with his arm as he realized he had a nightmare. It turned out the guy, Ning, had been in love with Siu Lan (pronounced 'Su Lawn') and had tried to work hard to earn her favor, but she rejected him and went off to marry someone else (apparently Solid Gold had been Ning's gift to her and she…'returned' it to him). I could feel Jetfire's disappointment and disproval by this and I had no doubt that he was frowning behind his gold face mask.

{I just hope that doesn't happen to us.} Jetfire said.

'It won't.' I told him. 'I'd never do that to you. Not after everything you've done for me.'

I felt warm love and smiled a small smile as I returned the feeling.

Apparently these two monks made an appearance before Ning and Solid Gold and it turned out that they were there to exorcise the evil spirits in the area. The young monk started fighting the spirits and I wrinkled my nose. There was something about the young monk that I didn't like at all.

"Geez… The fighting is so cheesy." Hot Shot suddenly said.

"Quiet!" Billy hissed before chucking a handful of popcorn at the yellow mech. It was safe to say that Hot Shot got the message.

I couldn't help but giggle quietly before returning my attention to the movie. So the two monks were White Cloud (the old monk) and Ten Miles (the young monk I didn't like). After they left (because of their competition with another exorcist, Red Beard) Ning and Solid Gold continued on their journey until the came upon a town (which he thought was the one he was looking for to collect a debt, his job being a tax collector), and I heard a catchy song as Ning spotted a beautiful woman riding in a carriage as if she were a princess (that was my first impression). But it was the song she was singing that surprised me.

Your eyes cannot believe
This beauty that you see
The voices in the air
Sounds like an angel's cry

That take you far away
Into a world of dreams
Your heart set free
For all to see
Fly away with me

At this Ning tried to get her attention and tried asking for the woman's name. I suddenly saw a vision in my mind of…me singing the song? I felt my face heat up as I realized that Jetfire was imagining me singing the song the woman was singing.

'Please stop that!' I told him, my face getting warmer when I heard him chuckling in my mind.

{Oh, so you can tease me, but I can't tease you, eh?} Jetfire said. {Don't you think that's a little unfair?}

I couldn't think of anything to say so I went back to watching the movie.

They take you far away
Into a world of dreams
Your heart set free
For all to see
Come fly away with me

After the woman left Ning and Solid Gold (who had discovered that everyone were ghost and that he was in a ghost town) ended up in a restaurant that served…human! I felt slightly grossed out and stopped eating the popcorn I was sharing with Alexis and Rad. I felt Jetfire's concern for me, but I reassured him I was fine. The woman (who was a ghost) introduced herself to the guy as Siu Sin (pronounced as 'Su Seen'), but then the other ghosts at the restaurant heard Ning's heartbeat and tried to search for him. Siu Sin managed to get them out of there and they ended up talking on a bridge before Red Beard showed up. Ning and Siu Sin were able to escape and the ghost managed to convince him to go to the Ghost Festival (I really didn't want to explain the Madame Trunk bit, to be honest), which he somewhat reluctantly agreed to go to with her. Apparently Siu Sin had a boyfriend that was going to perform (Alexis leaned over to me, telling me that the ghost's boyfriend was called 'Black Mountain,' causing me to raise an eyebrow) so the ghost was very excited to see him. They ran into Red Beard (after much pleading from Ning, chose not to harm Siu Sin who was hiding inside a parasol to avoid the sunlight) and he gave them a ride before they were attacked by White Cloud and Ten Miles, the bearded man helping both human and ghost to escape the conflict. Ning and Siu Sin made it in time and she flew off as more catchy music started before a giant appeared and…

I stand alone
Alone in history
No one would dare
To fight or challenge me

I am the king of the world tonight
Beware
Beware
Beware

"What the frag?" Jetfire suddenly exclaimed, his gold optics wide in shock.

Alexis jumped when she heard Jetfire's voice and she had to pause the movie. Not only could I see, but I could feel him freaking out. I was feeling the same way he was since I actually knew what Jetfire sounded like when he sings, and to find out that a character sounded like yourself was just freaky. I even thought I was hearing him sing.

"No way!" Billy said.

"That green guy sounded just like Jetfire!" Sideswipe said.

"You're right. It does." Optimus agreed.

"But what I don't understand is why whoever voiced this green giant sounds like me!" Jetfire stated.

"What's wrong, Jetfire?" Hoist asked, suddenly grinning. "Are you jealous that there's another person that sounds like you?"

"What? You're kidding, right?"

"Not in the least bit. I know for a fact that's what you sound like when I've heard you singing."

"And the fact that they sound exactly like you is perfect for black mail." Hot Shot added.

"No! You're not getting away with pranking me again!" Jetfire glared. "You remember what happened the last time you decided to do so, right?"

'Jetfire.' I warned.

Upon hearing my voice in his head Jetfire calmed down before turning to face the screen. I turned to Alexis as I've been wondering the same thing Jetfire was.

"Who exactly voices this green giant?" I asked.

"Uh, Scott McNeil, if I remember correctly." She told me.

"Scott McNeil?" Jetfire asked. "Who's that?"

"He's a Canadian voice actor that has done a lot of work in anime and such. He's even did the voice for the dog Solid Gold in this movie."

It seemed impossible for Jetfire to be anymore surprised from what he heard, but he was and I couldn't blame him. Even I was freaked out by this. Alexis decided to resume the movie and we continued to watch it.

I am the power and the ruler of all that us obey
Now and forever mine
You see before you the law of the universe
Only I am strong enough to rule

I couldn't help it. Scott McNeil sounded too much like Jetfire that it was just creepy. There were a few times that I had to remind myself that it was the actor singing and not my sparkmate.

'It's going to be alright, Jetfire.' I told him.

All must bow down
Fall down upon your knees
Raise up your voice
To glory and praise me
I am the king of the world tonight

Suddenly the hair Siu Sin had grabbed broke and the green giant (Black Mountain) had gotten angry and was about to punish her when those two monks (of course) came out of nowhere deciding that they were going to exorcise the 'evil' spirits (although Black Mountain would probably count as an evil spirit). Black Mountain ended up losing more than just a few strands of hair to White Cloud when he set him on fire, but at least Ning and Siu Sin got away. Ning decided that he wanted to help Siu Sin and chose to give up with life so that she could take him to Madame Trunk, but then at the last minute when Madame Trunk was going to consume him (more like vacuum him through her nose that suddenly resembled an elephant's trunk) and saved him with the help of Siu Deep.

I couldn't help but be reminded of when Jetfire had protected me from Megatron a week ago, along with the first time he kissed me when I saw the two characters kiss each other in the movie. I felt the warm love again, followed by the sense of being hugged by him through the connection. I wish I could hug him physically, but I couldn't so I had to settle with doing so through the connection as well.

'Maybe someday I'll be able to protect you as well.' I said.

{I just hope that day doesn't come anytime soon.} Jetfire told me. {I don't want you getting injured for my sake, even if you love me enough to willingly do so just to protect me.}

I sighed mentally from what he said. He had a point. He was a giant alien robot made of metal while I was merely a human girl made of flesh, bone, and blood. He was stronger than I was, easily able to take more damage than I could, and unlike a human he could easily be repaired. I was weak, fragile, and could easily be broken like a tooth pick if a Decepticon ever got the chance to do so. I was more prone to death than he was. He would live longer than I would and I would eventually grow old and die of old age if I wasn't killed before then. Would Jetfire still love me even when I've become an old woman? Would he still say I was beautiful? Would he still call me his Skydancer?

{Don't think like that.} I felt the comfort that he was sending me. {Don't think of the future yet. Focus on the here and now, sweetspark.}

I wanted to cry, but I did my best to hold back the tears. I had to be strong. I had to. I didn't want to constantly cry over everything that made me sad or emotional like I was now. I had to be strong for everyone, for Jetfire.

Ning and Siu Sin ended up getting on the train that would take them to get reincarnated, but Black Mountain wouldn't have it and tried to stop the train. Red Beard came to their rescue, saying that he would only exorcise the evil spirits for now on, before taking on and successfully defeating Black Mountain. And guess what? White Cloud and Ten Miles appeared to exorcise the spirits and tried to stop the train, but Red Beard chose to defend the train. After awhile Ning and Siu Sin managed to make it to the Gates of Rebirth and had tried their best to avoid the Hammers of Void that would erase a spirit's memories completely before they were reincarnated. They did so, but just as Ning was about to be reborn he was pushed out of the gates when one of the monks (all three of them having been turned to babies) had bumped into him. As soon as Ning entered Bei Village he encountered White Cloud, Ten Miles, and Red Beard all as crying babies before coming up to a house that had a peach tree in front of it (which was where Siu Sin said she would be once she was reincarnated), only to find his previous girlfriend, Siu Lan with a baby. I laughed when he took off with Siu Lan's baby, only to find out that it was a boy after taking a beating from Siu Lan's husband. He ended up being surprised to find that Solid Gold had been reincarnated as a cat and happened to have his parasol with him. Ning realized that Siu Sin was hiding in the parasol and they lived happily ever after…or as happily as a human and ghost could.

And thus was my experience with the movie A Chinese Ghost Story…and the surprises that came with it that night. It had gotten late and a few of us (mainly me and my friends) felt ready to turn in for the night. I ended up going with Jetfire (he had cleverly used the excuse of "wanting to keep an optic on me" and the fact that I was still recovering) and we left for his quarters.

"I'm gonna have to research this Scott McNeil guy when I get the chance." Jetfire told me.

"You're still freaked out about the fact that he sounds like you?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Oh, believe me, Skydancer. Freaked out doesn't even begin to describe how I feel about it. It like discovering that the Decepticons managed to clone an evil version of me and I ended up coming face to face with it, but worse."

"Maybe you're over thinking it."

Jetfire chuckled as he entered his quarters.

"Since when have I ever over thought something?" He asked, pressing a switch on the wall near the door that was next to the one that turn on the lights (there was another switch that turned on the lights near his berth as well).

"Are you sure you want me to answer that question?" I asked, taking notice of the unknown switch he pressed as I realized nothing seemed to happen after he pressed it. "And what was that switch you just pressed?"

"Oh, that? That was merely a switch that makes this room soundproof. Comes in handy if you end up waking up from a nightmare screaming your head off and you don't want to wake anyone up in the middle of the night."

"I see. I wish we had something like that invented in our homes. Seems very convenient."

"You have no idea just how convenient they can be." Jetfire placed me on a nightstand near his berth and I realized that there was a twin sized bed on it. I gave him a questioning look, which he just seemed to be sheepish. "Er…It was Optimus' idea to get you kids beds in case you decided to stay the night. I agreed to it as well in case you ended up sleeping in my quarters. Wouldn't want you to get squished, right?"

"Are you…rambling?"

"…Okay, so I am rambling! Happy?" This confused me. Usually Jetfire was so confident, but now he was acting like this was the first time I've been in his quarters. He suddenly turned around so his back was facing me. "Your bag is next to the bed so you can change."

I could sense that Jetfire was nervous, but I couldn't understand why? As tempting as it was I didn't want to pry since that would be invading his privacy. I rather have him be honest with me and tell me willingly. I felt my face heat up when I started carefully stripping my clothes off to get changed into my Pjs, and I knew Jetfire was tempted to turn around.

"Don't look." I told him.

"I know, but you do realize how hard this is for me, right?" He asked. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment before I sensed his realization. "I'm sorry. It's just that you're right there within arm's reach and I can just as easily claim you like that. It doesn't help that my spark keeps yearning for you to bond with me. I know I promised to wait until you're older, but…"

"Jetfire." I sighed thoughtfully. "I know that you're anxious about wanting to…bond with me. I know it's hard from you and I know you're trying to hold yourself back. I admire the amount of self-control that you've managed to maintain so far. But they say that waiting's the best part when it comes to something you really want, and in the end it's usually worth it." I finished getting into my Pjs. "You can turn around now."

Jetfire turned around and I could see the happiness and understanding in his optics as he knelt down so that his head was leveled with me on the night stand. I smiled, walking over to him and spreading my arms on his gold face mask in order to give him a hug as the side of my face was pressed against the warm metal. He chuckled, the vibration coming from his face mask tickling me as he did so.

"How about I give you a real hug so that this doesn't seem awkward between us?"

I nodded in agreement before pulling away. Jetfire pulled his head away as well behind his gold optics dimmed completely. I wasn't surprised when I felt the warm arms that wrapped around me before turning me to face his holoform. He held me close to his chest (while being careful of my right side), the heartfelt hug expressing all the love he had for me. I smiled before placing the side of my face against his chest and sighed. I was so happy being with Jetfire that I felt like I could just forget all my worries. Right now it was just the two of us. Two people that loved each other with all their heart (and spark). Two sparkmates that would someday be happily bonded to each other after all was said and done.

Jetfire managed to pick me up before carrying me over to the twin size bed and sat down on the side with me in his lap. I felt my face heat up slightly from the position I was in, but I didn't mind at all. I turned my head in time for him to claim my lips with his and I felt like I could've melted on the spot, unable to think straight from all the emotions I felt. The kiss was over before I knew it and I felt slightly disappointed. Jetfire merely smiled at me, knowing how I felt.

"C'mon. Let's get you to bed so that you can sleep." He said quietly. "And don't try to argue with me 'cause you know I'll win."

"I wasn't going to." I told him, feeling tired.

Jetfire pulled me up with him so that he could pull the sheets back from the bed before helping me get in (he was even nice enough to tuck me in). He knelt down beside the bed giving me a kind smile as his gold eyes gazed at me. I smiled, feeling my eyelids start to grow heavy with sleep. The process seemed to speed up when Jetfire started humming the Cybertronian Lullaby to me and I seemed to fall asleep instantly.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

I suddenly woke up when I felt the pain in my right side, hissing as I slowly (and carefully) sat up. At first I started panicking since I didn't know where I was (not to mention it was dark in the room which made it hard to see anything except silhouettes and shapes), but I calmed down when I remembered that I was in Jetfire's quarters. I sighed quietly in relief and was about to go back to sleep when I suddenly heard movement, followed by the sound of moaning and groaning. My head shot in the direction it was coming from, only to have my eyes widen when I saw Jetfire's form (which was laying face down) was moving around on his berth, but it wasn't just any movement that involved tossing and turning in one's sleep. His hips were moving as if he were…grinding them into the surface of his berth! My face heated up and my eyes widened in horror, watching as his hands wandered downwards, his hips raised slightly before something huge came out. He grabbed hold of it and lowered himself back on the berth and I realized in my shock that he was masturbating.

"Valerie…" I heard him moan sensually as he continued humping his berth, the sound of fans going off. "Oh, Valerie…!"

My face got warmer as I continued watching him, listening to his moaning and groaning as he gradually built up speed. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't look away and my mind ended up yelling about me, asking me what I was doing. The room suddenly felt like it was too hot and I became aware of the wetness I felt between my legs. Jetfire's moaning and grunting started getting louder and I couldn't help the sudden curiosity I felt as I wondered what it was he was dreaming about that was making him act like he was. Was it possible for me to search his mind to see what he was dreaming?

I decided to give it a try and closed my eyes. Hopefully he wouldn't be aware of what I was doing. What I saw wasn't what I expect to see. It was like I was a spectator watching from the sidelines as I saw Jetfire (in his true form) leaning over me (at least the 'me' he was dreaming about, my face heating up as I saw that 'I' was naked) while kissing 'me' roughly and hungrily. I couldn't see his face since it was blurred and I felt disappointed. I could hear them both moaning from what they were doing as they were breathing heavily. My eyes widened in horror as I saw what Jetfire was about to do next and the next thing I know my eyes snap open as I pulled out of his mind.

My heart was beating fast, I felt like it was too hot in the room along with the wetness between my legs, and as I watched Jetfire continue to grind his hips into his berth I started to feel a strong sense of pleasure, lust, and affection. The emotions were so overwhelming that I wasn't sure if they were Jetfire's or mine. I suddenly found myself wanting him, to feel him touching me as he expressed-

My eyes widened when Jetfire suddenly stopped what he was doing and I quickly got down on my bed when his body turned to face me. I stayed like that for a few minutes before I deemed it safe to look, only to look away as I felt my face heating up. I suddenly felt awkward and embarrassed from seeing a shape between his legs that I knew wasn't usually there. My face got even more warmer as I realized that I had watched him do that to himself (while he was asleep) and that I had been aroused by it. I decided to get back to sleep. I just wish I could forget what I just witnessed…

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Jetfire suddenly found himself waking up, only to feel slightly disappointed that he had been dreaming. He cycled his vents before glancing over to where Valerie was on the nearby nightstand to find that she was sound asleep. He felt his mouth plates form into a small smile, but then he frowned when he became aware of the mass between his legs. Jetfire saw that his interface rod was exposed and his cooling vents went off when he realized that he had been masturbating in his recharge. He glanced back at Valerie, worried that she might've heard him. Maybe she didn't, hopefully. Jetfire carefully placed his interface rod back into its chamber before falling into recharge again.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Waking up the next morning was…interesting to say the least, especially when I found Jetfire's holoform sitting on the bed I was laying in as he gazed down at me. He gave me a warm smile when he saw that I was awake and brought his face close to mine so he could give me a chaste kiss. I returned it with one of my own, but as soon as he pulled away I was suddenly reminded of what I saw and my face heated up. I had to block my thoughts before Jetfire could hear them. I could tell it worked since I saw the confused look on his face.

"Valerie? What's wrong?" Jetfire asked.

"N-nothing. There's nothing wrong." I answered.

I saw the look on Jetfire's face and I knew that he didn't believe me. He sighed, sounding slightly disappointed by my response (or how I said it).

"Valerie. You shouldn't have to hide anything from me." Jetfire carefully pulled me into an upright position so he could hold me. I felt myself tense slightly since he knew I was hiding something. He must've realized this since he started combing his fingers through my hair and causing a shiver to go down my spine from the sensation. The feeling of someone playing with your hair or combing their fingers through it was way more noticeable than when you did it to yourself (which is less noticeable). He was trying to get me to relax and loosen up a bit. Too bad it was working. "We're sparkmates, remember? You can tell me anything, and I mean anything. I want you to be willing to tell me if anything's wrong instead of having me look inside your mind." Jetfire placed his hand under my chin and forced me to look up at his face, my gaze ended up being locked on his gold eyes. I knew I had been backed into a corner in the metaphorical sense. "You trust me, don't you?"

Trust. I felt my throat tighten slightly in nervousness. He just had to play the 'trust card'. He wanted me to trust him; I've known that since day one. I felt very hesitant about telling him what I saw. I wanted to look away from him, but I couldn't. Not because he held my face in place, but because that gold gaze of his had me trapped.

"I-I do trust you, but…" I trailed off, feeling somewhat anxious.

"But…?" He repeated, wanting to know the rest.

"L-Last night I-I saw you…" I felt my face heat up considerably while stuttering nervously. "…I-I saw and heard you… Y-you were…"

Jetfire's eyes widened and I saw his face turn red as he pulled his hand away from under my chin. He averted his gaze and I knew he was embarrassed and awkward. I even felt the same way at the moment.

"You saw me do that while I was in recharge?" Jetfire asked, completely shocked.

I looked away, nodding my head.

"I-I didn't mean to. I woke up last night since my right side starting hurting when I tried to lay on my side."

I felt him place his hands on my shoulders, causing me to look at him.

"There's more to it than what you're telling me." His eyes widened as if he realized something. "You didn't…see what I was-"

I nodded my head, confirming that I had seen the dream he had last night..

"I-I'm sorry." I said.

"No, don't apologize." He shook his head. "I should be the one apologizing right now because of last night. It's just so hard to contain myself sometimes. It's just like I told you last night. I really need to work better on my self-control."

I wrapped my arms around him and placed my head on his chest, shutting my eyes before I sighed.

"It'll take time, but I know you can do it. You always say victory is yours, so I know you'll be able to do it."

I could feel his happiness and gratitude as he returned my hug.

"You're right. I can do this."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

(One week later…)

"C'mon, men! Let's look alive! We gotta war to win!" Jetfire ordered.

In case you were wondering what was going on, the Autobots were all working on their space ship. Well, it was more like Jetfire bossing the other Autobots around as they worked. And the best part about it? I had a bit of a front row seat as I watched from where I was standing on the platform near the railing.

"Aw, c'mon, Jetfire! We're working like dogs here!" Hot Shot complained as he worked next to Scavenger welding the metal plating together. Sideswipe walked past him as he carried a metal beam, or was it a pole? I really couldn't tell from where I was.

"Well, just keep workin'! Huh?" Jetfire looked up from where he stood and noticed that Starscream was standing on what was most likely the ship's hatch doing nothing. "Hey Starscream, what are you doing just standing around?"

"Me? Help? Ha! This is all a waste of time, Jetfire." Starscream said. "I suggest we launch an all-out attack against the Decepticons instead of this - mindless exercise."

"Hey, we're not the aggressors here!" At this time Sideswipe was watching from where he stood behind the Vice Commander, only to move in closer to get a better look. "Our job is to protect the Mini-Cons first!"

"Yeah, whatever!"

"Urgh! You're a fool!" Not only could I tell that Jetfire was frustrated with Starscream, but I could also feel it through our connection as well.

"No, you're the fool!" Starscream retorted before jumping down from the platform he was standing on. "At this rate, you'll never defeat Megatron. And that's what I'm here for. I joined the Autobots to bring Megatron down. The Mini-Cons mean nothing to me."

"You haven't changed." Jetfire growled.

'Jetfire, don't.' I told him.

"Hey, take it easy and just relax, Jetfire." Hot Shot interjected, getting in between the two as he tried to be the peacemaker (I sighed in relief and silently thanked him for that). He then turned to Starscream. "And that goes for you too, Starscream. Ya understand?"

"Hmmph!" Starscream started walking away and I could see that he was heading for the doorway to leave the room.

"Where you going?" Blurr asked.

"Yeah, get back here!" Hot Shot called out. But Starscream ignored them and continued walking off.

"Typical Decepticon." Blurr's voice was filled with disdain.

"I know." Sideswipe agreed.

"Hey!" Red Alert called out.

"Hmmm?" Both Blurr and Sideswipe turned to look at Red Alert.

"Enough chit-chat, ladies, we've got a job to do."

"Ehh, sorry, Red Alert." Jetfire said sheepishly, looking at the medic as he scratch the back of his head awkwardly. He then stopped. "But what about Starscream?"

"You mean Star-traitor, don't you?" Blurr stated.

"Get back to your stations, men." Red Alert told them.

Everyone headed back to what they were doing (besides Jetfire who as merely watching the progress). I couldn't help but feel sorry for Starscream and how the Autobots were treating him. He's been with us for a little over two weeks so far and they still didn't trust him, with the exception being Optimus. I believed he was right about giving the ex-Decepticon a chance, so why could the rest of the Autobots see that? Hot Shot sighed.

"Hot Shot!" Optimus called.

"Huh?" Hot Shot turned to see Optimus walking up to him.

"Progress report." Optimus stopped to stand in front of the yellow Autobot. "How's everything going down here?"

"Optimus." He turned to fully face his leader.

Optimus was quiet as he looked at Hot Shot.

"Is there... anything a matter, Hot Shot?"

Hot Shot looked at the ground, seeming to think of what to say before looking up.

"Well, there is something. It's just that the men and I don't think we can work with Starscream. And it's not like we haven't tried."

"Hmmmm…" Optimus seemed thoughtful as Hot Shot told him about Starscream.

"I guess the Decepticons are programmed a lotdifferent than us."

"With that in mind, Hot Shot, don't you think that just might be the reason we're still battling 'em?" Optimus asked.

"Yeah, I guess so…" Hot Shot answered.

"I think the first step we should take with Starscream is to try to understand our differences. And then we should attempt to come to some mutual agreement on how best to work together."

"Erghhh... Hmm?" Hot Shot balled his hands into fists.

"Well...?" I was surprised at how calm and patient Optimus was as he waited for Hot Shot's reply. Hot Shot then nodded his head. "Good. Now let's get back to work."

"You heard Optimus! Get back to work!" Jetfire ordered from where he stood.

"Don't you mean having us get back to work while you boss us around?" Scavenger asked pointedly, gazing at Jetfire.

"Yeah!" Sideswipe agreed, turning to Jetfire. "How come you're not helping us?"

I could tell that Jetfire was caught off guard from the unexpected questions as he looked at all everyone that was staring at him waiting for an answer. I felt like laughing, but I tried to resist the urge to do so and placed a hand over my mouth. I bet he never expected to be put on the spot.

"Uh… Well, because I'm Vice Commander." Jetfire answered.

"Oh, so you're pulling rank on all of us, huh?" Blurr said.

"Not just that! I, uh, also have to take care of Valerie."

"So now you're using Valerie as an excuse." Hoist smirked. "Still acting as nurse, I see?"

"Noooo. I'm still acting as caregiver AND Vice Commander!"

I couldn't hold it in any longer and I suddenly busted out laughing at the bantered with each other, only to regret doing so when my side started hurting.

"Valerie!" Jetfire said worriedly and rushed over to where I was as he suddenly went into 'protective mode'. "Are you okay? Does anything hurt? Tch, what a stupid question! Of course you're hurt!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Jetfire! Calm down for a bit!" I told him. "Let up on the Mother Hen gig and relax."

"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm not afemme or a 'Mother Hen'! I'm a full grown mech!"

"Okay, Father Hen. Just calm down." I tried to give him a smile despite the soreness in my side. "I'll be fine. My side is only sore a little sore-" Jetfire cleared his throat as he gave me an expectant look. "Okay, so maybe it does hurt, but it isn't too bad compared to how it was two weeks ago! I'll be fine, honestly!"

Jetfire just looked at me, only to sigh as he shook his head.

"I swear I'm beginning to turn into my Mom with all the worrying I'm doing lately." Jetfire stated quietly. "I keep forgetting that you're not in as much pain as you were two weeks ago. I need to stop being so overprotective of you."

"Hey. I understand why you'd be like that and I can't blame you, either. I almost kind of find it flattering." I told him quietly. "But you need to lighten up a bit and not worry so much. I've recovered enough that I'm able to walk around now, but only with a bit of soreness is all." I gave him a knowing smile. "Besides, as Vice Commander you have your duties you need to attend to as well."

Jetfire sighed as he hung his head, knowing I was right.

"You're right. I have stuff I need to do as well." He then lifted his head up and gazed at me with his gold optics before lowering his voice. "But what's with you feeling sorry about Starscream all of a sudden?"

I lowered my gaze, knowing that sooner or later he was going to bring this up after having heard my thoughts as Starscream had left.

"I just…I don't think it's fair how you and the rest of the Autobots are treating him. He's been with you guys for a little over two weeks now and you still don't trust him."

"But that's because he's a Decepticon!"

"He was a Decepticon, but he joined the Autobots, remember? And Optimus chose to give him a chance since he believes that Starscream's sincere about his decision. Even Hot Shot has started to trust him, and I noticed that you've started trusting him a little since your mission on Mars."

"I understand where you're going with this, Skydancer, but you gotta remember that he was once part of the same faction that offlined my mother. Understand that this isn't as simple as you say it is. This is different."

I felt a bit of sadness and sympathy as Jetfire started getting a little bit emotional. He didn't bother hiding it from me. He wanted me to know just how personal his reasons were.

"Is it? Is it really as different as you say it is?" I asked, lifting my gaze to look at him. I watched as Jetfire averted his optics, not saying anything. "Think about it for a minute, Jetfire. What if you had been in his place as a Decepticon and you hadn't even met me at all?"

Jetfire remained quiet and I could feel his emotions from his conflicting thoughts as he thought over my question. He suddenly sighed.

"I…" He started hesitantly. "I need to get back to work… I'm slacking off…"

With that Jetfire walked away from me and I couldn't help but feel somewhat sad as I watched his retreating form. He suddenly looked somewhat forlorn and the emotions I felt through our connection reflected just that, along with his confusion and uncertainty. I reached out to him, trying to provide comfort to him. He seemed to ignore me as he started working on the ship with the others, feeling a little hurt.

'Jetfire. Don't push me away like this again.' I told him. I could feel the realization on his end. I knew that he remembered what happened two weeks ago. 'I'm wasn't trying to make you feel bad after what I told you, but maybe what you are feeling is exactly the same as what Starscream is feeling knowing that you all don't trust him.' I felt a hand over my heart. 'I just…want you to know that. You know I love you, Jetfire. Very dearly…my sparkmate.'

I could feel Jetfire's surprise from what I said before I could feel the happiness, love, and understanding that he sent my way. I smiled a small smile before closing my eyes, a single tear falling from my eyes at how much I knew he loved me.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Oh, Thrust?" Megatron asked. "Exactly how do you propose we capture the Star Saber - and the Skyboom Shield?"

Thrust stood in front of Megatron's throne. He didn't miss the questioning look that the Decepticon leader was giving him and he smirked behind his face mask. Oh, if only he knew of his plan. If only he knew what awaited him down the road to his supposed 'victory'. For now, he would just have to play his part.

"I have developed just the plan for that task, Megatron." Thrust told him. "Leave everything to me, sire. Hahaha…"

"Hmmm…" Megatron didn't seem so sure of what he said, but he didn't care. All that Thrust cared about right now was his method of capturing the two weapons.

And he would do so without fail…

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

We were all excited as we waiting inside the dark room for Starscream. It was as soon as we heard the sound of approaching footsteps that we all went quiet. Before long the door slid open and we could all see the outlines of Starscream and the three Mini-Cons with him. As soon as Starscream turned on the lights we set off our party poppers (I don't really know what they're called).

"Huh?" Starscream was confused and turned to find us looking up at him.

"Surprise!" We all said at the same time, laughing as the confetti that came out of our poppers fell to the floor.

"What's going on?" Starscream asked. It was funny to see how confused he was.

"Thanks a lot for the present, Starscream!"

"I - don't think I follow."

So it turned out that he forgot.

"Thanks for the rock you brought back from Mars." Rad told him, reminded the ex-Decepticon of the mission he went on with Jetfire.

"Yeah, we never really had a chance to say thanks, big guy." Carlos said.

"And Alexis figured we should throw you, you know, a little appreciation party." Billy added.

"And we even got a cake." Fred said excitedly.

I mentally face-palmed myself. Only Fred would say something like that.

"We made this for you." Alexis said, pulling out the shammy we had all worked on sewing together and held it out to Starscream.

"Huh?" Starscream looked at the shammy, crouching down to carefully pick up the multicolored cloth that Alexis held out to him with two fingers. He held it out in front of him, looking at it with a puzzled, yet curious look on his face. I saw the look on Alexis face as she watched him examine the shammy before he lowered it to look down at her. "So... what is it?"

A smile appeared on Alexis face when she saw that Starscream was curious about the shammy.

"A hand-made polishing shammy." She said. "Use it to polish anything. Even Runway, for example."

"Huh?" Starscream looked at the Mini-Cons as they seemed to bleep in agreement. He turned back to look down at his shammy before looking at Alexis. "Yeah. Right."

"Even us guys helped sew it together." Carlos said.

"Yeah, and we even have the needle pricks to prove it." Rad agreed.

"So, when ya gonna cut the cake?" Fred asked.

Starscream looked back at the shammy. I could see the concerned look on Alexis face when she saw this.

"Oh, don't you like it?" Alexis asked.

"Uh, no, no... I wouldn't say that." Starscream told her. He looked at the shammy again, looking as if he were trying to think of the right words. "I mean, it's very - colorful. It's just that I haven't had anyone…give me a present before."

"You can't be serious." Carlos exclaimed. "What about on your birthday? You never got nothin'?"

"That's horrible…" I said.

"Uhhh…" Starscream seemed confused and looked at his present. "So what does one - do in a situation like this?"

"Uh, heh, why don't you just try saying thank you?" Alexis suggested.

The ex-Decepticon looked at Alexis, showing slight confusion.

"Thank you. Thank you. Right?"

Alexis smiled.

"Yeaaah, heh, heh!"

"Ohh…" Starscream ended up lightly scratching his right cheek Scratches right cheek. I could tell that he wasn't used to this kind of treatment, so this was all new to him.

"So give us the scoop on what it was like up on Mars, dude." Carlos said.

"Yeah, we wanna hear all about it." Rad added.

We all ran up to Starscream and looked up at him excitedly.

"Does anything grow up there that you can eat without croaking on the spot?" Fred asked.

Starscream knelt down so we wouldn't have to strain our necks too much and so that he could get a closer look.

"Is the gravity any different there than it is on Earth?" I asked.

"Hey, are there any aliens living on the Red Planet?" Billy asked.

"Well, kids-" Starscream started.

"Hey, Starscream!" Upon hearing his voice my eyes widened when I spotted Jetfire standing in the hallway outside the room, his gold optics narrowed at Starscream. How come I didn't notice him come in or sensed his presence? Had he been blocking his end of the connection? Starscream turned to look at him in confusion. "How 'bout sharing some of the work around here by going on surveillance duty up in the control room!"

Starscream growled quietly as Jetfire walked of. Even as he continued down the hallway I could feel his presence probing my mind in inquiry and mentally sighed as I knew why.

'Don't worry, Jetfire. I'm coming. Just hold on for a bit.' I told him.

"I'll never get used to the Autobots' work ethic."

"Well, I guess you better get going." Carlos said.

"Don't worry. If I don't do it, someone will take care of it. No big deal." Starscream said dismissively.

"You cannot be serious, Starscream." Alexis said.

"Huh?" Starscream was confused.

"I mean, sloughing off like that. It's not the way Autobots work." She explained. "Don't you get it? They're a team, and without teamwork, nothing at all would get done around here."

Starscream stood up and started walking away.

"Hey... Where do you think you're going?" Carlos asked.

The ex-Decepticon stopped in front of the doorway leading out of the room.

"To get a little peace and quiet."

With that Starscream left the room, leaving some of us confused. I looked over at Alexis and I could see the disappointed look on her face as she stared at the ex-Decepticon's retreating form as the Mini-Cons followed him.

"Hmmm…"

"Aw, man, what's his problem?" Billy asked.

"Whoa-ho, he sure is self-centered." Rad said.

"Uh huh…" Alexis dully agreed.

I looked at Rad and Carlos, suddenly feeling confused as I saw the expression on their faces.

"Uh, Rad, Carlos?" I asked, causing the boys to look at me. And they were still smiling. "Why do you two look…happy?"

"Honestly? We have no clue." Carlos.

I sighed. If they didn't have a clue as to why they were smiling (especially after what Rad said with the same expression), then I don't know what to think. I decide that I would catch up with Jetfire, who I knew was waiting for me.

"Hey, Valerie. Aren't you gonna have any cake?" Fred asked.

"No thank you. I'm not exactly hungry right now." I told him before leaving the room.

I went down the hallway that I saw Jetfire go down and it wasn't long before I found him when I turned around a corner. He had been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest. His gold optics landed on me before he lowered a hand down so I could climb on. I wrapped my arms around his thumb tightly as he started lifting his hand up and I shut my eyes tightly.

"You know I'm not going to drop you, Skydancer." Jetfire said calmly. "Don't you trust me?"

I loosened my hold around his thumb before slowly opening my eyes. I turned to look at him and could see the slight concern in his optics as he gazed at me.

"Sorry." I said. "It's not that I don't trust you or anything, Jetfire. I trust you with my own life if it ever came down to it." I looked over his hand to the ground below, seeing that it was a long way down. "I'm just afraid of falling, that's all."

Jetfire sighed.

"Remember when I took you flying that one time?" He asked, causing me to look at him. "Back then I told you that if you ever fell I'd always be there to catch you. You can count on me to be there and catch you. As I recall I managed to catch you when Megatron dropped you."

I realized what he was telling me and I smiled a small smile. Jetfire hadn't failed to catch me yet. I sighed quietly. I could feel Jetfire moving as he walked down the hallway to wherever he was heading to.

"Valerie. Do you know what your name means?" Jetfire suddenly asked.

"No, not really." I told him honestly. I was confused why he was asking me this.

"Your name has many meanings in just a few languages: 'strong' or 'to be strong' in Latin, 'brave' in French, and 'strong' or 'valiant' in English. But they all have something in common, and it's the fact that the root word for the name itself is 'valor'."

"'Valor'?"

"Yes, valor. There are a numerous definitions for the word itself that I can list. 'Boldness or determination in facing great danger, especially in battle; heroic courage; bravery'. 'Courage, especially that shown in war or battle'." Even if I couldn't see his face, I could see the smile being expressed through his optics. "I believe your parents may have been on to something when they were naming you."

I felt my face heat up slightly as I looked away.

"I'm not brave or strong, and I don't have courage, either." I said, feeling doubtful about what he was implying. "I don't have those qualities."

"Of course you do. I don't think they meant physical strength like when it comes to lifting a heavy object, but more of the strength that comes from a strong-willed person. The thing about courage is that it isn't the absence of fear, but the ability to overcome fear itself. I found a quote by someone called Edward Vernon Rickenbacker while searching the web once that said, 'courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared.'"

"I understand what you're saying, but what does this have to do with me?"

"You may not have noticed, but I've watched how you've grown ever since you first learned about us and the war. I've seen you display the qualities you claim to lack time and time again. There was the time you went with Rad, Carlos, and Red Alert into the battlefield when they brought one of the Mini-Cons that created the Requiem Blaster. You could've chosen to stay at the base where it was safe, but you chose to go with them into a place that was dangerous. There was also the time you went with the others when you guys took he Mini-Cons with you to hide them. You were in direct danger when Thrust tried to retrieve them for you. You were also brave enough to go flying with me. Personally, I think you've had your fair share of courage and you'll continue to have them."

"I never thought I was brave."

I looked back at Jetfire and I could feel that he was proud of me, for the face that I could be brave.

"See? Even someone like you can have courage. Instead of thinking of your negative qualities, think of the positive ones you possess. I know you have enough of them to outweigh your flaws. So the next time you're feel scared or afraid, think of your name."

I realized what he was saying. I smiled before tightening my hold around his thumb slight in an attempt to hug him.

"Thank you."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

As soon as Starscream arrived in the control room he lifted the multicolored shammy the kids made him. As he stared at it he noticed how each square of cloth was actually a separate piece of cloth, which each one stitched together in order to create the gift, his present.

His first present. Given to him by people who were kind to him. And they were organic, fleshy sparklings. The children were nice to him, Optimus believed that he deserved to have a second chance, and Hot Shot was starting to trust him (even going as far as to stand up for him earlier). But the others. They were wary of him. They didn't need to say anything or voice their thoughts; he knew they didn't trust him. Why else would they look at him like they did. He was trying, wasn't he? He frowned.

"All this teamwork talk is starting to make me go soft." He said, a frown on his face. Suddenly a deep beeping sound went off, causing him to look up at the monitor in front of him. "Huh?" The Mini-Cons with him seemed to be confused as well as they bleeped. "What is that?"

Starscream growled quietly upon recognizing the signal.

'It couldn't be.' He thought.

Starscream headed outside the base, transforming as soon as he could before taking off in the direction he knew the signal was coming from in a forested area.

"Transform!" He shouted before landing on the ground among the many trees surrounding him. He lifted his head up and he noticed something wasn't right at all. When it came to situations like these Starscream knew that he could trust his instincts. "Someone's watching."

As if on queue Starscream saw a familiar shape starting to form in front of him.

"Surprise!" The familiar voice exclaimed as an equally familiar face appeared before him.

"Thrust!"

"Thanks for coming, Starscream. I was so worried you wouldn't remember our little signal I sent you on the Autobots' monitor. So, what's it like being a traitor?"

"Why you!" Starscream tried to hit Thrust, but he suddenly activated his cloaking device to get away from him. He was getting irritated. "You sniveling coward, show yourself and fight!"

"Please forgive my rudeness. I don't know what came over me." Thrust appeared near a group of trees. "I must confess, I too have become rather disheartened by Megatron."

Starscream tried to attack again , this time with his own wing sword, but the result was still the same when the cone-headed Decepticon disappeared.

"I've had enough of your games!" Starscream was starting to get frustrated. Thrust was toying with him! He knew it!

Suddenly Thrust appeared right in front of Starscream, causing him to back up slightly.

"I agree with you that Megatron has failed to prove himself as a leader." Thrust told him. "So join with me and together we can bring Megatron down!"

"No deal, Thrust!" Starscream got ready to attack, holding his sword with both servos.

"You are a fool if you think you can destroy him the help of those pathetic Auto-boobs!"

Starscream growled quietly. Why was Thrust even telling him all of this? What purpose would it serve him if he did?

"What are you trying to pull?" Starscream asked. "Get to the point already!"

"Well then, here's a simple question. Have you considered returning to your comrades?" Thrust asked.

Starscream's optic widened.

"What? Back to the lunar base?"

"Yes, and may I suggest your chances of overthrowing Megatron are greater from within…"

"No way." Starscream answered, looking away. "Only a fool with a death wish would return to stand before Megatron." He looked back at the mech in front of him. "And trust me, Thrust, I for one am not a fool."

Starscream was about to slash Thrust when he disappeared. He looked around to see where he was, but it was futile. Thrust was using his cloaking device.

"Here's a simple solution." Thrust started. "Bring Megatron some worthless Autobot trophy and I assure you all will be forgiven."

"Trophy, you say?" Starscream turned around to face the direction Thrust's voice was coming from. Just as he expected, he appeared in front of him.

"Yes, something like - I don't know, the Skyboom Shield, perhaps? It's just a thought."

"No!"

Of course Thrust would disappear as soon as he tried to attack him.

"There's no hurry, Starscream. Take your time. And when you've decided, you can tell me your decision back at the lunar base."

"Erggh, why the nerve!" He growled as he stood up. "Transform!"

Starscream then flew back in the direction of the Autobot base.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Thrust watched Starscream fly away and uncloaked himself.

"Excellent…" He said. "The seed has been planted."

"Yes... Your dramatic skills truly impress me, Thrust." He heard the footsteps that approached him from behind before they stopped. But Thrust had nothing to worry about since he knew who was behind him. "But do you really believe you convinced him that by joining forces with you, it's his best option to destroy Megatron?"

Thrust smirked behind his face mask.

"I do, Sideways. But now imagine how shocked he would be if he only knew that you and I had formed an alliance."

"So would Megatron…. Hahaha…" Sideways quietly chuckled darkly.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Blurr was walking down the hallway, but then he spotted Starscream just standing around. The three Mini-Cons that stood behind the ex-Decepticon bleeped and the blue mech decided to approach him.

"Hey. Starscream…" Blurr said, coming over to stand next to him.

"Hmmm?" Starscream asked.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh, nothing's wrong." Starscream lowered his helm. He then started walking off. "I, uh, better go, I've got work to do."

"Hmmm?" Blurr was confused as he watched Starscream walk down the hallway. He then turned to look down at the three Mini-Cons that now stood behind him. "Don't ask me why, you guys, but I got a feeling something smells fishy here."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Starscream swung his sword, holding it in place in front of him.

"Why now? Why - am I doubting myself?" He asked himself as he slashed the air with his sword. For some reason, his moves, his swings, they felt…off. He didn't know why they did, but he just knew that something was off. Maybe he was losing focus. That had to be it. "Concentrate." He continued cutting through the air. "And the strange feeling I get from the humans..."

Starscream thought back to the human younglings, how they had been smiling and laughing at him after yelling out 'surprise!' to him. He had never expected them to through him a party, let alone give him a present. No one had ever done something so nice for him before that it confused him. But the smile on her face! The way she looked at him. Something about it made his spark pulse faster. And the emotions he would feel! He yelled not only in confusion, but in frustration! What was he supposed to think? What was he supposed to do?

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Well…I think that just about does it…" Jetfire said. He was staring at the monitor he and Hot Shot were standing in front of. The multiple screens in front of them showed angles of the ship they were working on, but it was mainly the frame that they managed to complete.

"I'm all done over here, Jetfire." Hot Shot said.

"Guys!" We all turned to see Billy and Fred running into the room when we heard the latter's voice. "We just saw a coneheaded Decepticon!"

"You mean Thrust?" Blurr asked, looking down at the two boys.

"He was just outside our base." Billy stated.

"What are we waiting for?" Hot Shot asked, coming over to where Blurr, Sideswipe, and the boys were. "C'mon, let's go get 'im!"

"Yeah, baby!" Sideswipe agreed as he and Blurr turned to the yellow Autobot.

"Hang on a sec, Hot Shot. Starscream chased the creep away already." Fred told them. He then clasped his hands next to the right side of his head in a dreamy look, eyes closed and everything. "Starscream is my hero."

Okay, what Fred did was just messed up. Hot Shot leaned close to look at Fred, giving him a weird look.

"You are one twisted kid."

"What's so wrong with a kid having a hero, huh?" Billy asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Yeaha, like Starscream's a hero!" Jetfire laughed dryly in a mocking sort of way. He stopped as soon as Starscream walked into the room. "Uhh... Starscream! We were just - talking about you!"

"I hope it was all good." Starscream said after a short pause.

"Don't play dumb with us, buddy." Blurr said as he stood in front of the ex-Decepticon. "Fred just told us you drove off Thrust. Way to cover our backs, Starscream." Something about his tone sounded accusing to me.

"Oh, that. Yeah, right."

Sideswipe smiled as he looked at the ex-Decepticon.

"I wish I'd been there to see you in action, my friend." Sideswipe said.

"There you are. Where'd you take off to?"

We all turned to the doorway just as Hoist walked into the room.

"What's up with you, Hoist?" Hot Shot asked.

"That's what I came to find out." Hoist answered. "I can't find the Skyboom Mini-Cons anywhere."

"Hey, uh, that reminds me, Starscream." Fred suddenly said, causing the Autobots (including Starscream) to look at him. "Didn't that coneheaded guy ask you to bring the Skyboom Shield with you to their moon base?"

"Yeah, what's up with that, anyway?" Billy asked.

Everyone turned to look at Starscream, most of them having an accusing look in their optics. I suddenly felt dread as I knew what was coming next.

"Don't tell me you're about to double-cross us!" Jetfire growled, his gold optics narrowed at him.

"Did you hand over those three Mini-Cons to them, Starscream?" Hoist asked.

"Uhh... No…" Starscream answered, turning away. "D-d-don't be ridiculous."

"But you do admit you saw him outside our base, right?" Blurr asked when he turned to him.

Starscream turned to look over his shoulder.

"I just knew this would happen!" Hoist stated.

"Hold your horses, men!" Everyone looked at Hot Shot as they wondered what he had to say. "C'mon. Let's not jump to any conclusions here. Starscream is on our side, don't you remember? And don't forget, he's innocent unless he's proven guilty!" The yellow Autobot looked at everyone pointedly before going up to Starscream and placing a hand on his shoulder. Hot Shot looked like he was trying to help him. "Okay, Starscream, help me out and explain what's up here. Because if ya don't, let's put it this way, you are so out the creek. And right now, you look pretty guilty."

"Guilty, huh?" Starscream asked, sounding somewhat hopeless before hanging his head slightly. "I don't think it matters what I say because you've already convicted me. But thanks for trying, Hot Shot."

"Er, that is not true!"

"Please, let's face facts. I am much different than you." Starscream looked away. "I was programmed as a Decepticon and I don't apologize for that. I've tried my best to understand the way you and the others think. But I must admit, it was a failed experiment."

"No one said you did it!" He said, taking a step forward. "We just wanna know the truth!"

Starscream turned to look back at Hot Shot.

"But you can't handle the truth!"

Hot Shot gasped quietly as he took a few steps back from the ex-Decepticon. He looked as if he didn't believe what Starscream was saying. I knew this wasn't right. It wasn't right that everyone in the room (besides myself, Billy, Fred, and Hot Shot) were accusing the Starscream of doing something he hadn't done. At least, I hope he hadn't. I wanted to believe that he was innocent, but I wasn't sure.

"What's all this ruckus?"

Everyone turned to find Optimus enter the room.

"Optimus-sir…" Hot Shot said.

"The three Skyboom Shield Mini-Cons are missing, sir." Hoist told the Autobot leader.

"The kids told us they saw Thrust outside our base and he was insisting Starscream deliver the Skyboom Shield to their lunar base." Sideswipe added. "That's the story so far, sir. Starscream isn't saying anything."

"Hmmm... Starscream, explain yourself." Optimus said, but suddenly the alarm went off. "What-?"

I turned to the monitor and my eyes widened when I saw the Decepticons were being displayed. Tidal Wave and Cyclonus were flying in the air while Demolishor and another Decepticons that I didn't recognize where driving. We were about to be attacked!

"Decepticons!" Blurr said.

"Okay, men! Let's move out!" Optimus ordered.

Everyone complied. As everyone else was starting to leave the room Jetfire stood to glance down at me with a serious look in his optics.

"Stay with Billy and Fred." He told me.

I nodded, knowing that I shouldn't argue with him. I was slightly worried as I watched him leave the room and clenched a hand gently over my heart.

'Please be careful.' I thought, knowing he would hear me.

{I will.}

I turned back to the monitor and watched the footage that was being shown to us. I sat down in the seat near a monitor and I looked up to watch the battle.

"Heh, heh, heh. Attack NOW!" Tidal Wave's voice said from the speakers.

"Hahahahahaha! Woohoo! Hahaha! Ready or noooot, here we coooome!" Cyclonus taunted. On another monitor I could see Optimus, Hot Shot, Blurr, Sideswipe, Hoist, and Scavenger driving towards the Decepticons in order to confront them. Even if I couldn't see him at the moment, I knew Jetfire was in the sky trying to sneak his way in. "Ha, ha, ha, hahahaha! Hahaha, woohoo! Locked on and - FIRING!" Suddenly Jetfire appeared in shuttle form in front of Cyclonus. "Uh-oh… looks like we've got company, boys!"

"I hope you brought a parachute, Deceptifool, 'cause you're going down!" Jetfire said as he started shooting at Cyclonus. He managed to successfully hit Cyclonus.

"Aaah! I'm hit, I'm hit!" Cyclonus cried as he started falling to the ground.

"You'll pay for that, Autobot!" Demolishor yelled before firing on Jetfire. who dodges the attack. The shuttle mech managed to move out of the way to avoid getting hit. "Get on him, Tidal Wave!"

"Your wish is my command." Tidal Wave said.

Tidal Wave flew close to Jetfire and started firing on him. I eyes widened in fear as I watched him getting hit and I suddenly felt worried. I was about to reach out to him through the connection, but then I realized that I would be doing more harm than good since it would do nothing more than distract him.

'Jetfire…' I thought.

"Look! Jetfire's taking a pounding." Billy exclaimed.

"This isn't good." I said.

"Hey, wait a minute! How come Starscream's not out there helping?" Fred asked.

"How can you tell who's out there, Fred? They're kicking up too much dust."

Billy was right. We could barely see what was happening because of the dust the conflict had created. But where was Starscream?

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Starscream had managed to get away from the battle and flew up into the sky

"Transform!" He yelled and he changed into hi bi-pedal form. He looked around, knowing that the one he was looking for was around. "Thrust, show yourself!"

And right on queue, Thrust did show himself.

"Have you made your decision?" Thrust asked.

Starscream smirked.

"I have, Thrust. I think I'll stay put here with bots I can trust." He answered, pulling out the Star Saber. But there was a new addition to the weapon itself. Tied to the hilt of the Star Saber was the shammy the kids had given him.

"You disappoint me. And you'll liveto regret your decision."

"What?" Starscream's optics widened.

"Starscream, I fully understand your desire for revenge against Megatron."

Starscream managed to recover and smirked again.

"You don't understand anything about me, Thrust. I'll get my revenge because I have the tools to get the job done. So out of my way, or I'll slice you in half, you pathetic snake!"

"Oh, you talk a tough game." Thrust narrowed his pink optics. "Name your price, Starscream. Join forces with me and together we can take down Megatron!" So Thrust was going to use this trick again by trying to manipulate him with the fact that he wanted revenge. "I, too, am a warrior on a mission. I aspire to lead the Decepticons to victory, yet one obstacle remains in my way - a thorn, if you will - and I intend to pluck it! Hahahaha! Why are you resisting my offer? You know there is strength in numbers, Starscream. So, shall we unite and bring down Megatron together? Hmmm? I need you, Starscream!"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hot Shot continued fighting along his comrade and he noticed when Optimus and Jetfire Powerlinked together to fight against Tidal Wave. The huge Decepticon tried to fire at Optimus, but he managed to dodge the attack by flying away. Optimus then fired at him, causing Tidal Wave to come crashing down on the ground.

'Now's my chance!' Hot Shot thought as he started taking aim at the huge Decepticon.

As soon as Tidal Wave transformed into his bi-pedal form Hot Shot fired and ended up shooting the Decepticon in the optic.

"All right! That's a bulls eye! Literally!" Hot Shot cheered. But then Tidal Wave turned to where he was and started firing at him. He managed to dodge out of the way. "Time to - transform!"

Hot Shot changed into his alt-mode and started driving away from Tidal Wave.

"You are mine, Autobot!" Tidal Wave roared.

He continued driving away as he dodged Tidal Wave's attacks.

"Oh man, this is getting a little too close for comfort." Hot Shot drove into the forest up head. Perfect! He'd take cover there! "Transform!" He skidded to a stop before hiding behind a tree and crouching down as well. "Okay, you overgrown lughead, just keep going." He whispered. Hot Shot felt anxious as he watched Tidal Wave look around, but then he felt relief when he saw him walk off in a different direction. "Boy, that creep's dumber than a bar of soap." Suddenly his audio receptors picked up a sound and he turned to the direction it was coming from-the bushes! "Hey, who's out there?"

Hot Shot had expected a Decepticon to come out, maybe even Tidal Wave, but then he would've seen him by now. What he didn't expect was to see Rad, Carlos, and Alexis come out of the bushes.

"Hey, it's us, Hot Shot!" Carlos cried.

"Hey, what in the world are you kids doing way out here, huh? What?" Suddenly Hot Shot noticed a familiar bleeping sound. His blue optics widened when he saw the three Mini-Cons that were standing behind the kids. "Dirt Boss! Mirage! Downshift! We've been looking all over for you guys. We thought you might've been captured by the Decepticons."

"We were just trying to help out so we decided to take them for a walk." Alexis told him.

"Huh?" A walk? They took the Mini-Cons for a walk?

"Sorry, Hot Shot." Rad said, looking guilty. "I guess we should've told someone what we were doing with them."

Guilty! Starscream! So it turned out that he was innocent the whole time! Hot Shot looked away, feeling horrible now that he was reminded of what happened earlier.

"Oh no, I almost forgot. We accused Starscream of stealing them." Hot Shot said.

"Huh?"

He could hear the confusion in Rad, Carlos, and Alexis voices just from that one word. He then turned to the kids, or more specifically, the Mini-Cons.

"Okay, you guys. Listen up good. I need you to Powerlink into the Shield."

As soon as the Mini-Cons complied Hot Shot grabbed the Skyboom Shield and ran off to rejoin the battlefield. He had to hurry or they might lose this battle! The conflict was still going on and he could see Hoist as he took cover behind a bunch of rocks and boulders. He suddenly looked up when he noticed Hot Shot rushing over to him before vaulting over the rock wall the white mech was taking cover behind. He turned to him, determined to tell Hoist what had really happened to the Mini-Cons.

"Starscream is innocent!" Hot Shot told him. "He never stole the Mini-Cons, Hoist! They were with the kids!"

"Great." Hoist said, placing his servos on the Skyboom Shield "I guess we all owe Starscream a giant Autobot apology."

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Heh, heh, heh, heh…" Thrust chuckled. "It seems your friends have found what they were looking for."

Starscream glanced down at the ground to see that Hot Shot and Hoist had the Skyboom Shield. He looked back at Thrust, anger clearly showing on his face.

"I've had enough of you!" He growled.

Starscream tried to attack Thrust, but something was wrong.

"Why are you angry at me?" Thrust asked. "I only wanted to form an alliance with you."

"What's that?" Starscream looked at him.

"We both want Megatron destroyed. But why do you insist on working against me?"

"That's enough! Stop yammering!" Starscream yelled. He slashed at Thrust in an attempt to strike him down, but for some reason he couldn't do it. What was stopping him? "Why can't I - destroy him?"

Starscream thought back on the kids and when he had been with them earlier that day for the party they planned for him.

"Surprise!" They had said to him with nothing more than smiles and cheerful looks on their faces. He remembered how he felt when he received the shammy he now possessed.

"And we even got a cake."

"The decision is yours. You can either become soft and forget your glorious heritage or you can join me. And if you decide the latter, it is only a matter of time before we drink from the cup of victory! You must choose, but I suggest you choose wisely." Thrust told him. Why was he feeling this way? Why was he feeling so…conflicted all of a sudden? He looked up at Thrust in time to see his pink optics narrow at him. "Your childish blathering annoys me, Starscream. You are a Decepticon, now act like one!"

"Huh?"

The confusion Starscream felt from all the conflicting thoughts in his processor weren't helping. He looked down at the battle below him, seeing that Optimus was taking cover behind a boulder as Tidal Wave fired at him. He glanced at Thrust before turning his gaze over to where Hot Shot and Hoist were, seeing that the latter held the Skyboom Shield.

"Well?"

Starscream watched as Hoist started swinging the Skyboom Shield around in his arm before throwing it in Optimus' direction.

"Well?" Thrust asked impatiently.

Starscream growled before punching the mech in his face and flew off. He had finally made his decision.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Why you…!" Thrust growled as he got up. He then noticed that Starscream flew off and grinned behind his face mask. "Hehehahahaha... I don't believe it. It worked! It actually worked! Starscream bought it! Ohhhooh, and don't think I'll forget about your little moment of insubordination, Starscream!"

He decided that he would just watch and see as his plan unfolded before his optics.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Deception
Disgrace
Evil as plain as the scar on his face

Starscream flew towards Optimus, knowing that the Skyboom Shield was heading in that direction.

"Good work, Hoist!" Optimus yelled, but then his optics had widened in surprise from what he did next. "What?"

"Optimus-sir!"

Deception (An outrage!)
(He can't change his stripes!)
Disgrace (For shame!)
(You know these Outsider types!)

He asked for trouble the moment he came
(See you later, agitator!)

Starscream now had the Skyboom Shield in his possession and flew off. He had down it. He had done the one thing that he had tried so hard not to do, but here he was, flying away with the Skyboom Shield. He felt horrible for what he'd done. He had betrayed the Autobots and the kids. He had betrayed her.

Deception (An outrage!)
(Just leave us alone!)
Disgrace (For shame!)
(Traitor, go back with your own!)

He asked for trouble the moment he came
(See you later, agitator!)

Starscream glanced down at the shammy tied around the hilt of the Star Saber. He didn't deserve it. A traitor like him didn't deserve such a present from those who had trusted him. He had betrayed them. Starscream untied the shammy from the Star Saber, giving it one last look as he held it in his servo before releasing it.

Born in grief
Raised in hate
Helpless to defy his fate
Let him run
Let him live
But do not forget
What we cannot forgive

'I don't know if this is the right choice. I have made my decision.' He thought as he watched the shammy flutter through the air as it floated down to the ground below.

"Well? Whatis it?" Thrust asked him.

'I must do everything there is in my power to bring Megatron down. And I swear I will crush him personally…'Starscream watched as the shammy continued to fluttering around in the air."Goodbye, kids. And thanks. I'll never forget you."

And he is not one of us
He has never been one of us
He is not part of us
Not our kind

With that Starscream and Thrust warped back to the Decepticon base. Back to the lunar base. Back to where a traitor like him was supposed to be.

Someone once lied to us
Now we're not so blind
For we knew he would do what he's done
And we know that he'll never be one of us
He is not one of us

Maybe that movie he had seen with Alexis and Valerie had been right. His situation hadn't been any different that Kovu's and the similarities were the same as the ones he had been through. And then he remembered the song that had really gotten to him.

Deception
Disgrace
Deception
Disgrace
Deception

After all, he was not an Autobot…

And he was not one of them…

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Hot Shot's wide blue optics continued to stare at the spot Starscream had once been in the sky. He started walking forward, completely shocked.

"I can't believe this. Starscream…" Hot Shot stopped walking and stood where he was. This wasn't supposed to happen! Starscream was supposed to come back with them to the base once this battle was over! He was supposed to be there when they finally apologized to him for their accusations against him! "Why, Starscream? WHYYY!?"

---

ATE: I'm so glad that I was finally able to get this chapter out to everyone to enjoy. I really need to get started on the next chapter right away. I also need to update Astera as well. Due to a request I had gotten from Crystalmaiden62 when this chapter was still being written, she had said "I wonder what Valerie would look like dressed up as Siu Sin." So I did a drawing the next day after I told her I would do so and the drawing is currently up on deviantart. Here's the link (without spaces):

http : / aerith -the- evenstar . deviantart . com /#/ d4eu stj

Anyways, if anyone has any ideas they'd like to see in any future chapters, feel free to share and I'll give credit. Please remember to review! ;D